He succeeds Marc Porter, who will continue in his role as chairman, Christie’s Americas. Porter also took over new global responsibilities earlier this year as international head of private sales.

Woodham takes up his role with immediate effect, reporting to Steven Murphy, Christie’s chief executive.

He is a former managing director at UBS Wealth Management, where he is credited with leading the turnaround of the corporate employee financial services division, Christie’s said. Before joining UBS he was president of Moody’s KMV. Earlier still, he was a partner at McKinsey and Company, working with wealth management, asset management and investment banking clients.

As well as his professional experience, Woodham has cultivated links with the art world through his personal interests. For the past two years he has been co-chair of the American Fellows patron programme at the Whitney Museum, where he was also involved with developing a financial plan that helped enable a $750 million expansion.

“Doug Woodham’s long-standing interest in the arts married to his professional experience and business acumen will make him an invaluable leader at Christie’s,” said Murphy. “This combination puts him in an ideal position to represent this region during a period of tremendous growth in the art market.”

The firm has 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms globally, including in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, and Hong Kong. It has recently expanded its programme of sales and exhibitions in growth markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates.