Biography
In her role as Managing Director of Sotheby’s Europe, Cécile Bernard brings to bear a special blend of both financial and art historical knowledge and experience, providing leadership and strategic direction across Sotheby’s European business.
Cécile joined Sotheby's in 2016 as Managing Director of Sotheby’s France, overseeing a period of unprecedented growth in the company’s business there. In 2019, she was appointed Worldwide Head of Operations, taking a seat on Sotheby’s Executive Team, and in 2023, she assumed her current position which sees her strategically divide her time between London and Paris.
From a family with a rich tradition of collecting, Cécile holds a Masters of Art History at the Sorbonne and a diploma of museology from the Ecole du Louvre , as well as a second Masters, this time in finance, from the Institut supérieur du commerce in Paris.
Her studies over, she entered the auction world, making her mark as a prominent specialist in Old Master Paintings at Christie’s. Over the course of some twenty years in the Old Masters department, Cécile rose to become a lead international director in the field. From there, her career took a turn, her facility with numbers and organisational skills coming to the fore as she assumed managerial positions as Head of Operations for Christie's France, and Secretary and Strategy Director at Hotel Drouot - all paving the way for her more recent roles at Sotheby’s.
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