Jamie Ritchie Email & Phone Number

Excited to announce my new role as COO at BlockBar, an innovative marketplace that leverages blockchain technology to connect consumers with the highest quality wines and spirits coming directly from producers.At Sotheby's, where I served as the Worldwide Chairman of Wines & Spirits, I played a pivotal role in transforming Sotheby's into the leading global fine wine and spirits auction house known for innovation, excellence, and integrity. During my tenure, I successfully drove international growth by expanding geographically and through new channels, taking revenues from less than $5M in 1990 to over $140 million in 2021.Throughout my career, I embraced an "intrapreneurial" approach, harnessing market knowledge, an innovative vision, and strategic acumen to pioneer the growth of the traditional auction business by introducing expanding auctions to new locations: New York (1994); Hong Kong (2009), France (2021) and establishing Sotheby's Wine retail businesses: New York (2010) & Hong Kong (2014).Innovative initiatives include the creation of "Sotheby's Own Label Collection" in 2019, introducing the Spirits category in 2019 and the merging of the charity and commercial auction worlds through partnerships with the Hospices de Beaune in 2021, the Worshipful Company of Distillers in 2021 and Napa Valley Vintners in 2022.I have been fortunate to be part of the team that orchestrated record-setting auctions, including Premiere Napa Valley 2023 ($3M), Hospices de Beaune 2022 ($32 million), Distillers One of One 2021 ($4M), The Ultimate Whisky Collection 2019 ($10M), Transcendent Wines 2019 ($30M), The Cellar of William I. Koch 2016 ($22 million) among many others. As an auctioneer, I had the honour to sell the most expensive bottle of wine for $558,000 for 1 bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945,in 2018 and the most expensive bottle of wine or spirits for $1.9 million for one bottle of The Macallan Fine & Rare, 60 Year Old, 1926 in 2019.I have experience building international businesses across diverse cultures, expertise in fine, rare, and everyday wines and spirits, and extensive knowledge of the retail and auction sectors. My focus is on strategy, leadership, innovation, leveraging new technology, and developing strong relationships.My approach is to create a world-class team that values teamwork, trust, respect, and integrity while excelling in client service, relationships, and operational excellence. I am thrilled to bring my expertise to BlockBar, and I look forward to contributing to its growth and success.

Listed skills include Wine, Auctions, Event Management, Art, and 20 others.