William F. Ruprecht
Encyclopedia
William F. Ruprecht is the president and CEO
of Sotheby's
.
in 1956 . His mother was a painter and his father was a businessman. After graduating from the St. Louis Country Day School in 1974, he attended several universities, and graduated from the University of Vermont
, where he studied sculpture and fine arts. One of his early jobs was situated in a furniture shop in Vermont. In 2008, Ruprecht became a trustee of the University of Vermont.
In 1986 Ruprecht became Director of Marketing at Sotheby's and in 1992 he was promoted to Director of Marketing worldwide. He stayed in this position until February 1994. From 1994 to February 2000 Ruprecht was Executive Vice President of Sotheby's inc. and Managing Director of Sotheby's North and South America. Ruprecht became president and Chief executive officer of Sotheby's inc. in February 2000. The previous president, Brookes, resigned following a price-fixing scandal between Sotheby's and rival auctioneer Christie's
.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
.
Education and early work life
Ruprecht was born in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in 1956 . His mother was a painter and his father was a businessman. After graduating from the St. Louis Country Day School in 1974, he attended several universities, and graduated from the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
, where he studied sculpture and fine arts. One of his early jobs was situated in a furniture shop in Vermont. In 2008, Ruprecht became a trustee of the University of Vermont.
Sotheby's
Ruprecht started working for Sotheby's Holding inc. in 1981. The reason he stated for working in Sotheby's in particular was he "wanted to move someplace that was warmer where there were more people". He got involved with textiles and tapestries. His area of expertise was Persian, Turkish and Chinese fabrics, textiles and rugs. He led his first auction in 1984.In 1986 Ruprecht became Director of Marketing at Sotheby's and in 1992 he was promoted to Director of Marketing worldwide. He stayed in this position until February 1994. From 1994 to February 2000 Ruprecht was Executive Vice President of Sotheby's inc. and Managing Director of Sotheby's North and South America. Ruprecht became president and Chief executive officer of Sotheby's inc. in February 2000. The previous president, Brookes, resigned following a price-fixing scandal between Sotheby's and rival auctioneer Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
.