Meet the team
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Patrick Saich
Head of Client Advisory, EMEA
BIOGRAPHY
Patrick joined Christie’s in 2014 as a Senior Client Advisor. With many years of experience curating several highly regarded private collections Patrick advises many of Christie’s most important clients who buy and sell both at auction and via Christie’s Private Sales. Patrick is a qualified Barrister, has a background in politics and is on the board of several charities. Brought up between Malta and the United Kingdom, Patrick has worked in France and America. He speaks Maltese, French and English.
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Sumiko Roberts
Director, Senior Client Advisor
BIOGRAPHY
Sumiko began her career at Christie’s in 1994 specialising as client liaison for Japanese clients. Having developed a deep understanding of the auction house and its diverse client-base, in 1997 she moved to the Client Services Department to work with clients internationally, focusing in particular on new buyers and bidders. Sumiko deepened Christie’s’ relationships with important collectors over many years and today is one of Client Advisory’s most experienced team members. Sumiko grew up in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese and English.
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Julie Vial
Director, Senior Client Advisor
BIOGRAPHY
Julie began her career at Christie’s in 2003 in the Rome office, after completing a Masters degree in History of Art. She moved to London in 2006 to work in the Orientalist and 19th Century European Art department. In 2009, she joined the Middle East Business Development team, collaborating closely with Isabelle de La Bruyère, Director Middle East, and the Dubai office. She worked with many collectors across the Gulf and on special projects such as important pre-sale exhibitions and various charity auctions. Julie is now a Senior Client Advisor and assists private clients with their purchases at Christie’s, frequently traveling across sales sites. A French national, Julie is fluent in Italian, English, and French.
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Ksenia Apukhtina
Director, Senior Client Advisor, Russian-speaking Clients
BIOGRAPHY
Ksenia has been working with private Russian-speaking clients since joining Christie’s in 2000, and has been instrumental in the development of this region and its invaluable client-base. As part of the Russian Business Development team, Ksenia organised high-profile charity auctions and important client events including the popular ‘Children’s events’ at Christie’s King Street. In 2013, Ksenia joined the Client Advisory department as a Senior Advisor and continues to work closely with Russian-speaking clients. Recently, Ksenia has been closely involved in the re-opening of the new Moscow office in 2015.
Name:Ksenia Apukhtina
Position:Director, Senior Client Advisor, Russian-speaking Clients
kapukhtina@christies.com -
Fleur de Nicolay
Director
BIOGRAPHY
Fleur began her career at Christie’s in 2003 as a Specialist in African and Oceanic Art. Over the course of a decade Fleur was invaluable in bringing to Christie’s some of the most exceptional pieces and collections in this field, working with collectors globally. In 2013, she joined the Client Advisory team as key advisor for French collectors across all areas of the business, and soon grew an important international client base. Today, Fleur is based in Paris and works with clients across Europe. She speaks French and English fluently.
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Marie Louise Chaldecott
Director, Senior Client Advisor
BIOGRAPHY
Marie-Louise joined Christie’s in 2009 and throughout her career has worked across many of the Fine Art departments and sale sites. With a strong background in Client Strategy and Business Development, she worked closely with the European Chairman’s Office for three years contributing to the growth of the business in key regions including India and France. She joined the Client Advisory team in 2014 where she advises established private collectors on their collections, nurtures new buyers and develops private partnerships. Marie-Louise is British and Lebanese and studied French and History of Art at The University of Bristol. She speaks French and English fluently.
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Erola Farre
Associate Director
BIOGRAPHY
Erola joined Christie’s in 2013 working closely with the Head of the Department, Isabelle de La Bruyère. She is passionate about art and aesthetics, and has a degree in Interior Design. Erola advises new clients and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
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Yu-Ge Wang
Associate Director, Client Advisor
BIOGRAPHY
Yü-Ge was born in China, grew up in Germany and moved to London in 2013. Having studied and worked in China, Germany and England, she has a deep understanding of Asian and Western cultures and languages. She joined Christie’s in 2013 and has strong background in Client Services, Client and Business Strategy and contributed to the success of major Sales in Europe and New York for the Post-War and Contemporary Art Department as their Business Analyst. Yü-Ge focusses on advising, cultivating and fostering existing and new Asian clients. She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, German and English and is a Christie’s Auctioneer.
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Annabelle Scholar
Associate Director, Client Advisor
BIOGRAPHY
Annabelle Scholar is a Client Advisor and Associate Director in the UK Chairman's Office at Christie's. Prior to joining Christie’s in 2016, Annabelle spent four years working in Design at both a world renowned gallery in Paris and, with another auction house. Annabelle advises several international private collectors and advisors across categories while nurturing new buyers and cultural partnerships. During her time at Christie's to date, she has notably placed artworks by Francis Bacon, Tracey Emin, Jean Dubuffet, Vincent van Gogh and Joan Miro among others into private collections. Annabelle has been instrumental in engaging with the next generation of collectors, including being part of the team who launched and delivered the Christie’s Lates' platform which attracted over 1000 visitors each month, and which still runs today. In 2022, Annabelle co-curated a cross-category exhibition, The Art of Literature, which brought together three millennia of artworks, objects and manuscripts exploring how they inspired and informed one another and in partnership with Molly Goddard. To coincide with this exhibition, Annabelle organised and hosted a dinner bringing together young patron groups from across London’s most important museums and institutions in a celebration of London as a cultural hub. As well as advising clients, Annabelle has worked on a number of meaningful charitable auctions at Christie’s including Rays of Sunshine which raised £2.2m for children who are terminally ill or have life limiting diseases and, Studio Voltaire’s 30th Anniversary ‘XXX’ auction and dinner. She has also been on the committee for the Serpentine Future Contemporaries since 2021.
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