LONDON—Last October, the Moscow-based luxury retail company Mercury Group announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Phillips de Pury & Company. Now a new CEO has been appointed as part of the reorganization of the London- and New York-based auction house. Bernd Runge, who took the helm on March 1, will oversee all things financial, legal and managerial from Phillips’s London office.

The 48-year-old Runge, who at press time was not granting interviews, comes to the boutique firm with more than 10 years of experience at Condé Nast International. As a Berlin-based vice president, he was instrumental in launching the Russian editions of Vogue and GQ. "Having been in a business that, like the art market, is so international, he’s ideally equipped to do this job," says Simon de Pury, who will maintain his roles as Phillips chairman and chief auctioneer.

But what of the darker side of Runge’s past? It has been reported that between 1981 and 1989, he was a dedicated informant for the Stasi, the East German secret police. De Pury says he was aware of these charges but downplays their significance. "I attach no importance to things that were alleged to have happened ages ago," he says. "What matters to us is his first-rate track record at Condé Nast."

"Company Man" originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's April 2009 Table of Contents.