SAUDI ARABIAN NATIONAL TO LEAD CLIENT DEVELOPMENT IN REGION

Dubai - Christie's is pleased to announce the appointment of Hawazen Nazieh Nassief as Director, Middle East Relationship Management. In this role Ms. Nassief will be responsible for nurturing new and developing Christie's existing relationships with clients across the Middle East. She will join the established local Christie's team, led by Managing Director Michael Jeha, who have been operating in the region since 2005 and hold sales twice a year in the Middle East of modern and contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art.

Ms. Nassief will be based in Dubai and work alongside the 10-strong Dubai team and Christie's network of consultants throughout the Middle East in helping to support Christie's auctions and activities around the region. In addition she will travel frequently assisting clients visiting Christie's main salerooms in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. She brings a wealth of experience and contacts to the business and will be particularly focused on developing our business with clients from Saudi Arabia, a key growth area for Christie's in the region.
Before joining Christie's, Ms. Nassief worked for the Olayan Financing Company in Saudi Arabia, where she was Corporate Social Responsibility Officer between 2011 and 2013. Prior to this she was the Editorial Coordinator and External Communication Officer for Investment Enterprises, based in Jeddah. She also worked as a Supervisor of Strategic Studies for Kingdom Holding Company, based in Riyadh before completing her Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Tufts University in the USA. Her experience in CSR is particularly relevant as Christie's in the Middle East has helped to raise more than $20 million for charitable causes since 2005 and, as market leaders, these efforts will continue to be a major focus going forwards.
Ms. Nassief academic credentials combined with her practical business experience in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be a great asset to Christie's. The next sale series, due to be held in Dubai in late October, is set to be a busy one with the announcement of a new online-only sale to complement the existing sale format.
Ms. Nassief commented: “I am so looking forward to combining my passion for art, watches and jewellery with my previous business experience in my new role at Christie's. I have already learnt so much and I am delighted to be joining Christie's at this exciting time with the launch of the PART III / online sales and the other new initiatives planned for the coming season.”