Martin Wilson, featured on this year’s Art Power Index, stepped into the CEO role at Phillips at a moment when the art market was testing its own resilience. Global sales were softening, regulatory scrutiny was rising and a generational shift in collector behavior was accelerating. For Wilson, a seasoned art lawyer and the author of Art Law and the Business of Art, the challenge was clear: steady the ship while reengineering Phillips for a more agile, digitally fluent era of collecting.
Since his appointment, Wilson has approached this mandate with a pragmatism rooted in deep industry knowledge and a willingness to experiment. He’s reshaped internal culture, leaned into Phillips’ contemporary identity and launched data-driven initiatives like Priority Bidding, a pre-sale model that rewards early engagement and gives the auction house more detailed insights into market demand. It’s a small structural change with outsized implications, hinting at how auction houses might reimagine the balance between access, transparency and excitement in an increasingly global and digital marketplace.
As younger collectors redefine the power dynamics of the art world and reshape auction houses, innovation—not consolidation—will define Phillips’ future, says Wilson. Against this backdrop emerges a clear portrait of an executive navigating between tradition and transformation, one who believes that the most enduring auction houses will be those dynamic enough to evolve with their audience, yet steadfast enough to preserve what makes the hammer fall so compelling.
What do you see as the most transformative shift in the art world power dynamics over the past year, and how has it impacted your own work or strategy?
The biggest shift has been watching younger collectors step into the spotlight. These new collectors aren’t just buying differently, they’re thinking differently. We’re seeing a real “taste transfer” happening alongside the “great wealth transfer.” The challenge for the market is to anticipate and understand the expectations of these new collectors, both in terms of their taste but also how they prefer to engage with the art market. It is at inflection points like this that opportunities for innovation present themselves. These younger collectors already identify with the Phillips contemporary brand, and our size and agility mean that we’ve been able to lean into that by launching initiatives like Dropshop and Priority Bidding. We are enjoying the opportunity to be an innovator, and these initiatives aim to reimagine the role of an auction house and speak directly to this new generation’s appetite for experience-led buying, transparency, immediacy and direct engagement.
As the art market and industry continue to evolve, what role do you believe technology, globalization and changing collector demographics will play in reshaping traditional power structures?
A shift in the traditional power structures is certainly taking place. The new generations of collectors do not feel constrained by geography or gatekeepers. Their marketplace and the source of their information are global and digital. Digital communication allows them to engage directly with artists and tastemakers. This gives them a level of confidence and self-sufficiency and makes them less reliant on advisors. The challenge for the art market is to engage with them and meet them on their terms and on their platform. It is not just a case of being online—we need to make the process of discovering, learning about and buying art online a genuine and immediate pleasure, whether it’s through a seamless online bidding experience, curated drops or data-driven tools like Priority Bidding. Because these new clients pride themselves on their digital self-sufficiency, the old hierarchies are giving way to something more fluid, democratic and inclusive, and that’s exciting.
Looking ahead, what unrealized opportunity or unmet need in the art ecosystem are you most excited to tackle in the coming year—and what will it take to make that vision a reality?
Buying art at auction is unlike any other purchasing experience. It’s strategic, exciting and the feeling when the hammer comes down on a winning bid is like no other. Buyers today value this kind of impactful experience more than ever, and auction houses need to recognize that.
With that in mind, we have introduced Priority Bidding, an innovation that rewards collectors for engaging sooner, while giving us early insights into auction activity. That kind of pre-sale intelligence is a game-changer for everyone involved. It makes sellers feel more confident, it gives buyers incentive to engage earlier and it allows auction houses to devote more time to the lots that need their attention, creating momentum before the sale even begins. It’s still early days, but the results so far have been exceptionally strong, indicating that our clients share our appetite for new approaches, and we’re already seeing how this could reshape the way auctions work. However, we see this as just a start, and we are already looking at other ways in which we can break the mold—so watch this space!
You stepped into the CEO role at Phillips during a challenging market environment, with sales declining and regulatory risk high. What were the key priorities you identified in your first 90 days?
I decided early on that my tenure as CEO would be characterized by change. While we have all had to accept that the art market has been facing a cyclical downturn, I have seen my job this year as positioning Phillips so that we are ready for the inevitable upturn and the evolving demographic change in our client base. That meant building a sense of teamwork and shared purpose through increased engagement with our employees. I have been encouraging our staff at all levels to think innovatively and creatively, and not be afraid to experiment.
Alongside this, one of Phillips’ greatest assets is its brand, which is uniquely modern and focused. I want to lean into that, ensuring that Phillips is a brand that our clients want to be associated with. Finally, I want to focus on what makes buying art unlike any other retail experience: the excitement and the experience of participating in an auction, whether it is online or in a saleroom.
In your previous roles, you focused heavily on legal and compliance. As CEO, you oversee strategy, operations and branding. What has been the biggest mindset shift for you? And how do regulatory and ethical considerations influence your priorities even now?
Regulatory and ethical considerations are increasingly important in all businesses, and the art world is no exception. Legal and regulatory challenges are inevitable, and having an understanding of legal and regulatory risk and how best to manage it is, therefore, a skill all CEOs need to have. I am fortunate in that I have acquired this during my years as a lawyer. What has been new and exciting for me are the skills of leading and strategic thinking. As a CEO, I am responsible for culture, morale and long-term vision. That strategic and relational responsibility is a significant and enjoyable transition.
Your priority‐bidding model—where early bidders receive reduced premiums and consignors see less commitment risk—signals a shift from the traditional auction model. How do you balance innovation with maintaining confidence among high-net-worth sellers used to legacy structures? What other data-driven innovations are on your roadmap for 2025-2026?
The art world is a very traditional—perhaps one of the most traditional of environments. It is also at a pivotal moment of change. This is therefore the moment for innovation. We’ve seen in other industries that at points of such inflection, it’s the organizations willing to innovate and experiment that succeed. That is our starting point.
The success of Priority Bidding as an innovation lies in the fact that it is attractive both to buyers and sellers. Buyers pay less buyer’s premium in return for committing to bid before the auction. Having secured a lower buyer’s premium, they are also incentivized to keep bidding. This means we have better pre-sale client engagement, better bidding intelligence, and more bidding activity at and above the low estimate. This is extremely attractive to sellers as it meets their ambition for their lots to sell—and to sell well. The data so far is very encouraging. Lots with priority bids performed up to 66 percent better against low estimates, and early selling bids increased by over 300 percent year-over-year in some sales.
As for the future, we are already looking for opportunities to innovate in other areas across the business, and I look forward to sharing more soon.
You’ve spoken about Asia as a crucial growth region. Beyond Hong Kong, which markets do you see as the next frontier for Phillips’ expansion—Seoul, Singapore or the Gulf?
Asia has been a cornerstone of our growth, and we’re proud to mark ten years in the region this fall. Beyond Hong Kong, we see tremendous potential in Seoul and Singapore, both of which have vibrant collector communities and cultural infrastructure. The Gulf is also increasingly important. Our private sales and exhibitions there have shown strong traction, and we’re deepening our commitment through regional leadership and expanded programming.
What one structural change (buyer demographics, digital platforms or global geography) do you believe will have the greatest long-term impact on the auction business—and how is Phillips positioning itself to meet that challenge?
The most transformative shift is demographic. The “great wealth transfer” is happening alongside a “great taste transfer.” Millennial and Gen Z collectors now account for nearly 30 percent of our buyers, and they engage differently—digitally, globally and with a strong appetite for transparency and direct artist connection. Demand for living artists is extremely prevalent, especially with younger collectors who want to be involved and close to the artists. Phillips is positioning itself as the auction house of choice for this generation.
Looking ahead, what does success look like for you and Phillips? Larger trophy lots, deeper engagement with your current categories, penetration into new categories (digital art, NFTs, experience-based auctions) or something else?
Success for Phillips is multidimensional. Yes, we’ll continue to pursue trophy lots and collections—like the Vanderbilt Jewels and the Irving Penn Foundation Collection. We have established a solid credibility at this level, and this is central to our strategy and positioning. However, I also feel very enthusiastic about deepening our understanding of the tastes and interests of the emerging generation of art collectors. This new generation wants to engage with art and artists in ways that are different from their parents, and we also need to meet that need. Dropshop is a great example of how we’re reshaping the auction model through direct artist collaboration.
We’re also expanding our offerings. For the first time ever, this month, we will be offering objects of natural history alongside some incredible works of Modern and Contemporary art, a direct response to evolving collector tastes. Ultimately, success means being the most innovative, trusted and culturally relevant auction house for our existing clients, while also building new relationships with the next generation of collectors.
