Auction Technology Group plc has appointed a former managing director at Sky as CEO.
Duncan Painter will lead the group – which owns 10 marketplaces and connects auction houses with bidders globally – after current CEO John-Paul Savant agreed to stand down after a decade in the role.
The London-listed firm recently rejected a remarkable 12 takeover bids from its largest shareholder FitzWalter Capital, the latest for £491 million.
Painter founded data firm Clarity Blue in 2000 and sold it five years later to Experian for £85 million.
After working as global product leader for Experian, he served as MD of BSkyB’s customer intelligence unit Sky IQ for two and a half years before joining Ascential Plc as chief executive in 2011.
He held that role until the sale of its digital commerce division to Omnicom Group Inc. in January 2024. He then led the group’s global eCommerce services division Flywheel Digital before he was named chief executive of commerce arm Omni.
“[Painter] has a strong track record of delivering shareholder value through disciplined commercial execution and operational focus, alongside deep experience in marketplaces and eCommerce,” said Scott Forbes, chair.
“ATG has a clear strategy, and we are confident that under Duncan’s leadership we will accelerate its execution.”
Painter added: “I have long admired ATG and the strength of its marketplace platforms. I am delighted to join the group at this important stage in its development.
“The strategy is clear, and I see significant opportunity to accelerate its execution to drive sustainable growth and increasing shareholder value. I look forward to working closely with the Board, our colleagues and customers to realise the group’s full potential.”
In January FitzWalter slammed the company for failing to grant it access to conduct due diligence and accused the ATG board of ‘extreme value destruction’.
ATG had been seeking instead to dispose of its industrial and commercial division (I&C) business, which enables the sale of machinery such as tractors and was responsible for circa 45% of its FY25 profits. FitzWalter had slammed the decision to not run a formal sales process around the disposal.
ATG confirmed that it had received preliminary expressions of interest to acquire the division, but that these did not progress beyond initial discussions.
FitzWalter has also criticised ATG’s $100m acquisition of US marketplace Chairish, highlighting $15m of transaction and integration costs and renewing its view that the deal damaged shareholder value.