Bill Ruprecht of Sotheby's

The Wall Street Journal has a very good profile on Sotheby's CEO Bill Ruprecht.

The WSJ reports

But it hasn't been all plain sailing since. At the height of the financial crisis, Sotheby's saw year-to-year sales drops of more than 60%, Mr. Ruprecht says. Auction sales fell to $2.3 billion in 2009 from $4.9 billion the previous year. "That period was frightening," he recalls. "People believed we were close to systemic failure. But it didn't happen … We had to reduce costs and increase margins. In the worst sales-deterioration periods we were able to stay cash-positive and profitable, which was remarkable," he says. The firm weathered the storm and, as proof, bought back its Manhattan headquarters in 2008 for about $370 million.

These days, business is better. Total revenue rose 7% last year to $831.8 million; private sales—sales conducted outside of auction—jumped by 65%.

Asia has been central to this success. Five years ago, Greater China represented 4% or 5% of Sotheby's global commerce. Last year, that figure was closer to a third, Mr. Ruprecht says. Asia has become so important that next month Sotheby's will open its own permanent gallery space in a big push to grow sales. The auction house is investing $7.2 million in 1,400 square meters in Hong Kong's Admiralty business district.

The 56-year-old Mr. Ruprecht expects not only sales to increase but Chinese taste to develop over time. "One hundred million Chinese are going to be moving across the globe to culture centers in Europe [and the U.S.]. They are going to see a wide range of arts and culture…. They will acquire a more worldly view," he says.

Apart from the Chinese, are there any other nationalities emerging as new major buyers? Mr. Ruprecht says it is hard to pinpoint a particular nation. The company's last round of impressionist and contemporary sales in London, for instance, saw bidders from 50 countries.

"What you see over the last 100 years is that works of art tend to be acquired by people who are recently the beneficiaries of wealth creation," he explains. "In other words, it isn't old established wealth that is the principal buyer of art in the world, it is people who are recently fortunate and they acquire these objects and surround themselves with these objects."

To read the full WSJ article, click HERE.