Sayuri Ganepola

Spear’s Review

Sayuri Ganepola, global managing director of Christie’s Art Finance, is sitting on data that the rest of the art world would give up its painting arm for. Final sale prices, bids, and seller and buyer information – it’s all available to her, along with a vast depth of institutional knowledge from valuers and auctioneers. 

She said: ‘I can just walk down the hall, talk to the specialists and say, “I see this value that you have on that. What does that really mean?”’ Ganepola has used this intimate understanding of the art market to build a facility within Christie’s that can be used to finance further art purchases or allow art collectors to use their existing assets as security for other purchases, such as businesses or real estate. 

Adviser Profile

Sayuri Ganepola is the Global Managing Director of Christie’s Art Finance and the Co-Chairman of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the Americas. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and earning her MBA at the Darden School at University of Virginia, Sayuri was an investment banker in Debt Capital Markets at Lehman Brothers before completing a master’s degree at Christie’s Education in Art Business and Modern and Contemporary Art. During her Christie’s career she has held numerous leadership positions, building on her finance acumen and strong knowledge of the art and capital markets. Prior to her current role, she was the Head of Client Strategy for the Americas.