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Martin Wilson’s Third Way

The newish C.E.O. of Phillips opens up about his innovative new fee structure, competing for the biggest estates, and how his house is distinguishing itself as the smallest of the Big Three.

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Martin Wilson Phillips Auction
"We’ve only been doing this for a month and a half. It’s nine sales. It’s worth reminding ourselves of what we were trying to achieve: obviously, greater client presale engagement; and then presale intelligence, which is incredibly important in terms of managing the sale; and then much more competitive bidding activity," says Phillips C.E.O. Martin Wilson. Photo: Courtesy of Phillips
Marion Maneker
October 22, 2025

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Late last year, Martin Wilson replaced the long-tenured executive Edward Dolman as C.E.O. of Phillips. It was, as I noted at the time, a somewhat tortuous succession process. But Wilson was in many ways the steady, logical choice amid all the turnover: He had spent 20 years as a lawyer at Christie’s, where he eventually ascended to global managing director and general counsel, and then served as general counsel at Phillips for more than six years.

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