Jamie Ritchie has been a leading figure in the wine and spirits industry for the last 35 years. Since July 2024, he has been COO of BlockBar, a trusted global marketplace offering the highest quality wines and spirits directly from producers to consumers, authenticated via blockchain. Before joining BlockBar, he was with Sotheby’s for 32 years. Over his time at Sotheby’s, he played a pivotal role building Sotheby’s into the leading global fine wine and spirits auction house known for innovation, excellence, and integrity. He drove international growth by expanding geographically and through new channels, taking revenues from less than $5M in 1990 to over $150 million in 2022.

He is a respected authority on the wine and spirits market and one of the world’s leading auctioneers, having held the record for selling the most expensive bottle of whisky: 1 bottle of The Macallan Fine & Rare 60 Year Old 1926 for $1.9 million in 2019; and wine: 1 bottle of Romanee-Conti 1945 for $558,000 in 2018.