Céline Assimon Named Chief Commercial Officer at Bonhams
Her appointment was confirmed in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday morning.
More from WWD
Delphine Viguier-Hovasse Named L'Oréal Chief Innovation and Prospective Officer
EXCLUSIVE: More Executive Changes for Flos B&B Group as Arclinea Family CEO Steps Down
Nancy Astor's Turquoise and Diamond Cartier Tiara Hits the Auction Block at Bonhams
'Excited to share that I have joined Bonhams as chief commercial officer. I am privileged to be a part of this international auction house, which was established in 1793 in London, and I look forward to contributing to its rich legacy. A big thank you to Chabi Priscilla Nouri and Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard for their [Nouri and Hoejsgaard] trust,' Assimon said in a post.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the four original Georgian London auction houses. It is owned by Epiris, the U.K.-based private equity company, and has 14 salerooms across the globe, selling items in more than 60 collecting categories.
Assimon joined De Beers in 2020 and left at the end of February.
As reported, De Beers wished her 'the very best for all future endeavors,' and said a search is underway to recruit a successor.
The company said Assimon 'successfully repositioned De Beers Jewellers as a design-led luxury brand through the expansion of our creative product portfolio in core collections and high jewelery.'
It added that Assimon 'built the jeweler's global brand presence through relationships with market leading partners and laid the groundwork for the launch of its Rue de la Paix flagship store in Paris later this year.'
The brand is set to open the flagship in the fourth quarter in a building that has recently been renovated.
De Beers also credited Assimon with revamping the look and feel of the brand.
'Over the course of nearly five years, I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as the custodian of De Beers Jewellers,' said Assimon, adding that she was particularly proud of the rebranding and upcoming ad campaign.
'Collaborating with my team to research and articulate its distinctive DNA has been a remarkable adventure. The blend of African heritage with a touch of London sophistication resonates deeply,' she added.
Best of WWD
EXCLUSIVE: Maje Names Charlotte Tasset Ferrec CEO
Nadja Swarovski Exits Family Company Amid Ongoing Corporate Shakeup
Aeffe MD Exits Fashion Group

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
34 minutes ago
- New York Times
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS counter-suing Tottenham relating to Harry Kane's Bayern Munich move
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's car company INEOS Automotive is counter-suing Tottenham Hotspur for more than £1million. In legal documents filed to the High Court earlier this month, INEOS' lawyers have disputed Tottenham's claim from June, in which the Premier League club sued the company for £11million ($14.8m). Advertisement The legal dispute centres on the 'Official Partnership Agreement' between Tottenham and INEOS that was signed in December 2022. This agreement was intended to grant INEOS commercial sponsorship rights for almost five years, specifically relating to the 'INEOS Grenadier' brand in exchange for almost £17.5m in sponsorship fees, not including indexation. That sponsorship deal has now collapsed. Tottenham argued in their 'Particulars of Claim', filed to the High Court in June and seen by The Athletic, that they terminated the agreement on March 11 this year. They cited INEOS' failure to pay an indexation payment of almost £480,000, which was due by 16 August 2024, and a sponsorship fee of £5.1m, which was due by 1 December 2024, as well as another interest charge of almost £300,000. Tottenham's claim describes the failure to pay as a 'material breach of the agreement'. Tottenham have also claimed damages of more than £5.2m for breach of contract. INEOS has always maintained their right to terminate the agreement. In INEOS' 'Defence and Counterclaim', also seen by The Athletic, they argue that the company wrote to terminate the agreement in a letter dated December 6 2024, in effect from 30 June 2025. Their argument is that neither the indexation payment of almost £480,000 nor the sponsorship fee of £5.1m are therefore payable. INEOS further argue that Tottenham were 'not entitled to terminate the Agreement'. INEOS' counterclaim argues that Tottenham 'failed to grant' INEOS rights from 11 March 2025, when they wrote to INEOS to terminate the agreement, until 30 June 2025, 'when the Agreement terminated pursuant to the INEOS Termination Letter'. For these 112 days, INEOS has claimed damages of £1,073,972.60. The INEOS' counterclaim also makes reference to discussions between Tottenham and German car giant Audi at the time that Harry Kane was transferred from Tottenham to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023. The 'Defence and Counterclaim' starts by referring to a 'highly significant series of events' in which Tottenham 'started negotiating with a major competitor to INEOS'. The counterclaim argues that the club 'was not entitled to have discussions with a Competitor in connection with any rights which were the same as, or substantially similar to, the Rights granted to INEOS'. Advertisement The document states that, on August 3 2023, Tottenham's then-chief commercial officer Todd Kline told INEOS chairman Ashley Reed he 'had been in discussions' with Audi: 'According to Mr Kline, the discussions and/or negotiations related to a proposed transfer of the Club's player Harry Kane to the German club FC Bayern Munich.' According to the document, this led to discussions which brought about a new agreement between Tottenham and INEOS, under the terms of which INEOS had the right to terminate the agreement after its third year, provided that INEOS provided the Club with no less than six months' written notice. Tottenham Hotspur declined to comment. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Manchester Airport told to 'do more' on drop-off and pick-up fees
A government minister has written to Manchester Airport, raising concerns about its drop-off and collection fees. Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton MP Jim McMahon has called for a full review of signage and the appeals process for those who are fined. It comes after the RAC claimed that Manchester Airport was the most expensive UK airports on a 'cost-per-minute' basis, along with London Luton. Research shared by the company revealed that 11 out of 20 airports increased their drop off charges since last summer. However, drop- off fees at several airports, including Manchester, remain frozen. The current drop-off charge at all of the airport's three terminals is £5 for five minutes, increasing to £6.40 for up to 10 minutes, while those who take up to 30 minutes must pay £25. READ MORE: Prisoner held hand of Gooch gang boss Lee Amos as he clutched chest in agony behind bars, inquest into his death hears READ MORE: Crime scene investigators tape off city shopping centre as man rushed to hospital after attack Manchester Airport has defended its charges on motorists, saying that the five-minute drop-off option gives customers 'flexibility'. Sign up to the MEN Politics newsletter Due North here But Mr McMahon, a Labour MP and government minister, has raised concerns about the approach to drop-off and pick-up charges. He has called for 'more to be done' to make sure there is fairness and transparency for people across the region to use the airport. He said: "Having an international airport - the 3rd busiest in the UK and the busiest outside of London - on our doorstep is fantastic for our borough. "It gives local people great access to places around the world for holidays and business, which goes unmatched in the vast majority of the country. "The money being invested into the Airport City project and the upgrades to terminals 2 & 3 is investment which we support. "However, it is important during this summer holiday season to raise concerns about the approach to charging for drop-off and collections at the airport terminals, and the impact on drivers who find themselves faced with unfair charges." In his letter, the MP calls for a 'full review' of signage approaching the airport, at the terminals, and immediately on arrival, an end to the practice of 'stacking up charges' and a review of the appeals process given that unsuccessful appeals increase penalties further. The minister also asked the airport to publish data on income from the drop-off and collection charges so that there is transparency on how much money is made through duplicate charges and late payments. The Manchester Evening News understands that the airport has responded to Mr McMahon and has been invited him to visit. A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: "Drop-off and pick-up charges help us to manage demand for access to our forecourts, where space is limited, and reduce traffic congestion around the site. "It means that the areas remain efficient even at busy times because people are not staying there for extended periods. "This means people can feel assured that if they wish to use our pick-up or drop-off facilities they will be able to do so quickly and effectively. "There are clear signs in and around the drop-off and pick-up areas that remind people to pay online or over the phone by midnight the day after their visit. "We also offer a completely free drop-off facility next to the nearby JetParks 1 car park. It is served by a 24-hour shuttle bus that runs every few minutes and takes less than six minutes to get to all three terminals."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Generative AI Course With Certification For SWE's, PM's and Engineering Managers - Interview Kickstart's Roadmap To Becoming An AI ENGINEER in 2025 For US Tech Professionals
Santa Clara, Aug. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a world where financial institutions grapple with increasingly complex compliance and risk detection requirements, generative AI is emerging as a game-changer. The launch of the UK Financial Conduct Authority's "supercharged sandbox" in partnership with Nvidia has opened the floodgates for banks to pilot advanced AI for fraud detection and market manipulation in a controlled environment. For more information, visit: Meanwhile, AI-powered tools from major banks and fintech firms are slashing manual review times from contract analysis to transaction monitoring by hundreds of thousands of hours annually. Generative AI models, backed by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) frameworks and LangChain components, are enabling precise, context-aware responses while keeping data secure behind enterprise firewalls. Interview Kickstart, a leading upskilling platform trusted by thousands of tech professionals, offers an Applied Generative AI course designed to prepare engineers for high-impact roles at FAANG and top-tier companies. Tailored tracks for software engineers stand out, covering a structured Python crash course, deep dives into LLMs, neural networks, and applied modules on image and audio GenAI. The program spans 12 weeks of hands-on training and culminates in software-focused capstone projects. By the end, learners are able to build intelligent meeting summarizers, virtual coding assistants, and AI customer service agents—skills that mirror the real-world needs of financial institutions and tech giants alike. In financial services, AI-driven risk detection and compliance systems are rapidly becoming the backbone of operational efficiency. JPMorgan Chase's COiN platform leverages NLP to process thousands of contracts per second, saving over 360,000 manual review hours annually. Similarly, Mastercard's real-time fraud detection system evaluates 160 billion transactions each year, improving detection rates by up to 300% while minimizing false declines. These cutting-edge deployments rely heavily on RAG systems that couple textual embeddings with deep language models. To stay legally compliant, they embed secure pipelines that shield sensitive data, often combining vector embeddings, fine-grained permissions, and local indexing to ensure confidentiality. Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course equips learners with exactly these in-demand skills. Modules centered on prompt engineering, model fine-tuning, and secure deployment directly map to real-world compliance workflows. LangChain integration is a core highlight: students learn to build secure RAG agents over private databases, employ document loaders, manage vector stores, and create RAG chains with retrieval and generation linked by authorization checks—a training path that mirrors enterprise-grade architectures. Speakers from the financial industry are often hired by FAANG companies, meaning the expertise students gain matches the expectations in top-tier interviews. Crucially, interview readiness is baked into the program. Mock technical interviews with FAANG engineers in both domain-specific and system design contexts ensure candidates are not just technically competent, but also interview-savvy. Personalized coaching helps refine your resume, optimize your LinkedIn presence, and practice behavioral competencies. This means that by the time learners head into interviews, they can confidently discuss how to architect a RAG-based compliance tool that enforces access control, mitigates bias, and passes audit scrutiny, exactly the kinds of systems being piloted by regulators and banks today. Ethical and legal considerations are also woven into the curriculum. With regulators like the UK FCA and Germany's BaFin demanding transparency in AI usage, understanding biases, audit logging, and federated or on-premise deployment is essential. The program includes modules on ethical guardrails, evaluation metrics, and bias mitigation, ensuring learners can articulate how to deploy AI responsibly in sensitive environments. Beyond technical depth, Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course offers tailored tracks for different roles, including software engineers, product managers, engineering managers, and technical program managers. While engineers learn to code and construct models, product roles explore prompt design and value communication; managers focus on technical feasibility, ROI assessments, and integration planning. This multi-role alignment reflects real-world teams deploying GenAI responsibly, making every graduate well-prepared for interdisciplinary collaboration in enterprise settings. The capstone projects reflect this alignment with industry trends. For software engineers, a project like an intelligent meeting summarizer or virtual assistant parallels what financial firms build to comply with audit logging and real-time compliance monitoring. Deploying these applications through AWS, integrating with finance databases, or applying LangChain permissions replicates those mega-scale systems. In a AI-driven compliance wave, Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course doesn't just teach generative models, it trains you to build enterprise-ready, safe, and compliant AI systems. Combining the best of RAG, secure agentic pipelines, prompt-driven LLMs, and real-world deployment, this course lays the foundation for tech professionals to confidently interview and land roles at FAANG and beyond. With generative AI transforming risk and compliance across global financial markets, professionals skilled in LangChain, RAG, secure model deployment, and AI ethics are in high demand. Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course equips you with the exact knowledge and practice to seize these opportunities in FAANG+ careers and beyond. In a future where AI-powered compliance becomes the norm, this course positions tech talent to not just participate but to lead. For more information, visit: About Interview Kickstart Founded in 2014, Interview Kickstart is a premier upskilling platform empowering aspiring tech professionals to secure roles at FAANG and top tech companies. With a proven track record and over 20,000 successful learners, the platform stands out with its team of 700+ FAANG instructors, hiring managers, and tech leads, who deliver a comprehensive curriculum, practical insights, and targeted interview prep strategies. Offering live classes, 100,000+ hours of pre-recorded video lessons, and 1:1 sessions, Interview Kickstart ensures flexible, in-depth learning along with personalized guidance for resume building and LinkedIn profile optimization. The holistic support, spanning 6 to 10 months with mock interviews, ongoing mentorship, and industry-aligned projects, equips learners to excel in technical interviews and on the job. ### For more information about Interview Kickstart, contact the company here:Interview KickstartBurhanuddin Pithawala+1 (209) 899-1463aiml@ Patrick Henry Dr Bldg 25, Santa Clara, CA 95054, United States CONTACT: Burhanuddin PithawalaSign in to access your portfolio