LiveAuctioneers recently announced that senior vice president of product and marketing Phil Michaelson has been promoted to president. In this new role, Michaelson will continue to work from the company's Manhattan headquarters with a broadened responsibility set, continuing to report to LiveAuctioneers chairman and CEO Jason Finger.
Michaelson is a product and business leader with 15-plus years of experience in leading high-performance teams both tactically in day-to-day operations and through strategic planning processes aimed at optimizing investments in the marketplace, leveraging human capital and data analytics.
"Since joining LiveAuctioneers three years ago, Phil has consistently driven tremendous results across virtually every dimension of our business. Most importantly, his execution is always in a manner consistent with the values of the company," said Finger. "Not only does he 'just get it done,' he always ensures initiatives are executed in a 'smarter, better way,' no matter what the job may be or in which of our company's departments. No job is too big or small for him."
Finger continued, "Phil starts with trust in his business activities, whether that means identifying features that empower our auction-house partners to better market themselves and deepen bidder relationships or adding enhancements to help our millions of bidders worldwide to search, discover and bid more efficiently. Phil's user-centric approach has been a major force behind our growth. Our trust metrics, items sold, revenue, and the number of bidders and auction houses using our various services have all seen a major uptick since Phil joined our management team."
Prior to joining LiveAuctioneers, Michaelson was director of product management at 1stdibs. Concurrently, he founded and served as CEO of KeepIdeas Inc (KeepRecipes.com). His previous positions included senior business analyst, corporate strategy and business development at Dun and Bradstreet and senior consultant at IBM. Michaelson holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB from Princeton University. His past awards and distinctions include Harvard Business School's Arthur C. Rock Entrepreneurial Fellowship, Apple Staff Pick, and British Airways' Face of Opportunity Award. During his first three years with LiveAuctioneers, Michaelson's leadership and innovative ideas were instrumental to the company's selection as a Red Herring Top 100 North America winner (2016), Crain's Best Places to Work in New York City winner (both 2016 and 2017), and a Silver 2017 Stevie Award winner in the Customer Service Team of the Year category.
The new marketing and product enhancements Michaelson has guided across various channels of LiveAuctioneers have led to a 200 percent growth rate in new bidders across web and mobile channels. In addition, more sellers than ever are taking advantage of the company's various advertising and marketing options.
"It's been incredibly satisfying to help entrepreneurial auctioneers and passionate collectors form meaningful relationships online. I'm delighted to continue on the journey of empowering sellers to more easily market their auctions and ensure buyers have a trusted, engaging auction experience," stated Michaelson.
To view LiveAuctioneers' 2017 annual report, visit www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/2017-annual-report/.