EQS-News: Artnet: Annual General Meeting 2024 on February 27, 2025, Expanded Supervisory Board and New, Strong Supervisory Board Candidates

Artnet: Annual General Meeting 2024 on February 27, 2025, Expanded Supervisory Board and New, Strong Supervisory Board Candidates

New York / Berlin, January 20, 2025: Artnet AG (hereinafter also referred to as the ‘Company’), the leading online marketplace and information provider for the art market, will soon publish the invitation to the postponed 2024 Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on February 27, 2025.

During the Annual General Meeting, the election of a new, exceptionally qualified, and dynamic Supervisory Board is to be proposed. The aim is to strengthen the governance structure, further advance the company’s growth, and solidify Artnet’s position as a market leader in the art industry. It is proposed to expand the Supervisory Board from the current three members to five members. Each proposed member brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective.

The new candidates for the Supervisory Board are:

• Frédéric Jousset, Entrepreneur, Founder of the ArtNova Fund
• Sophie Neuendorf, Supervisory Board member of Galerie Neuendorf AG, Vice President at Artnet
• Rüdiger K. Weng, CEO of Weng Fine Art AG
• Lawrence B. Benenson, Principal at Benenson Capital Partners
• Roy Israel, Former President and CEO of National Arbitration & Mediation (NAM)

The proposal for the newly composed Supervisory Board appropriately reflects the Company’s shareholder structure: the two largest shareholders of the Company will be represented. The proposed expansion of the board to five members provides strong support for Artnet for the future while maintaining an efficient governance structure.

The agenda for the Annual General Meeting will also include a vote on the creation of authorized capital amounting to up to 20% of the Company’s share capital. This authorized capital is intended to enable flexible access to liquidity, allowing the Company to accelerate technology development and expand its market reach in appropriate circumstances. This is intended to position the Company for enhanced growth and increased profitability.

Additionally, the election of a new auditor for the financial year 2024 will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, as the current auditor has informed the Company that they will no longer be available for further engagements.

The invitation to the Annual General Meeting, including the agenda and specific proposals from management, will be published in the Federal Gazette and on the Company’s website in the coming days.

The annual report for the 2023 fiscal year is available here.

For more news and releases on investor relations, please visit here.

About the Board Candidates:

Frédéric Jousset

Frédéric Jousset is a French entrepreneur and philanthropist. He co-founded Webhelp in 2000 and sold it to Concentrix in 2023 at a $4.8 billion valuation. Jousset created the foundation Art Explora with the aim of bringing the art world to a wider audience in 2019. He also started ArtNova in 2019, a €100 million fund to invest in the cultural ecosystem, with a special focus on art tech. Jousset is a patron of the Musee de Louvre in Paris.

Sophie Neuendorf

Sophie Neuendorf is Vice President at Artnet and Supervisory Board Member of Galerie Neuendorf AG. With 27% of shares, Galerie Neuendorf AG is one of two major shareholders of artnet AG. Neuendorf is Advisory and Supervisory Board certified with additional certification in ESG Reporting and Executive Finance from the University of Oxford. She has over 12 years of experience within the art market, with a focus on the online art trade, art as an asset class, and data-driven decision making. She is a professor at Madrid’s IE University and guest professor at Bocconi University in Milan where she lectures on the development of fine art as an asset class. Most recently, she developed artnet’s ESG policy and report, and is spearheading the development of sustainable business practices within the art industry.

Rüdiger K. Weng

Rüdiger K. Weng is the founder and CEO of Weng Fine Art AG, as well as the President of the Board of ArtXX AG. Weng Fine Art AG  (www.wengfineart.com), headquartered in Krefeld (Germany) und with further offices in Monheim am Rhein (Germany) und Zug (Switzerland) is a leading internationally operating art dealership The founder-led company combines more than 20 years of expertise in the art market with broad economic know-how. With 29%, WFA AG is the largest shareholder of Artnet AG.

Lawrence B. Benenson

As a Principal and a member of the Benenson Capital’s Investment Committee, Lawrence B. Benenson is involved in developing and implementing the Company’s investment strategies and internal operations as well as guiding the Company’s short and long-term planning. Passionate for the arts, he serves on the Boards of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Museum for African Art, the Center for Arts in Education, the American Folk Art Museum, the ART/OMI International Arts Center, the Al Hirschfeld Foundation and the Ad Reinhardt Foundation amongst others.

Roy Israel

Roy Israel is the founder and former President and CEO of NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation) based in NY, working with over 10,000 commercial entities including more than 50% of the fortune 100 companies. NAM is a leading dispute resolution provider globally. An active art collector, Israel has been a client of Artnet’s for over a decade.
 

About Artnet

Artnet has an unparalleled 60 million users annually, making it the largest global platform for fine art. Founded in 1989, Artnet has revolutionized the way people discover, research, and collect art today. Artnet’s Data provides mission-critical resources for the art industry, encompassing more than 17 million auction results and AI- and ML-driven analytics, further driving transparency and insight into the art market. Artnet’s marketplace connects leading galleries and auction houses with its global audience, offering a curated selection of over 290,000 artworks for sale worldwide. Artnet Auctions, the pioneering online-only auction platform, offers unprecedented reach, liquidity, and efficiency for buyers and sellers. Artnet News covers the events, trends, and people shaping the global art market with up-to-the-minute analysis and expert commentary. It is the single most-read news publication in the fine art industry, with a rapidly growing, dedicated audience. Together, Artnet’s broad synergistic product offering provides a comprehensive ecosystem that drives and informs the modern art market.

Artnet AG is listed in the General Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the segment with the highest transparency standards. The majority of operations are headquartered in New York at its  wholly-owned subsidiary, Artnet Worldwide Corporation, a New York based entity founded in 1989. Artnet Worldwide Corp. owns a London based subsidiary, Artnet UK Ltd.

ISIN: DE000A1K0375

LEI: 391200SHGPEDTRIC0X31

Contact:

Sophie Neuendorf

sneuendorf@artnet.com