An entrepreneur at heart, John Kelly provided the initial seed funding for Global Showcases and unified the unique founding team. John’s first venture was a decade commitment to invest, establishing and building the London business of Buccellati, the renowned Italian jeweller, with boutiques in Mayfair and Harrods.
John’s passion for building businesses stems from his involvement in several family ventures from a young age and was further developed at Babson College where his focus was on finance and entrepreneurship.
John’s career started in investment banking in New York City and he soon became involved in projects in Asia and Europe, reporting directly to the Board of Directors.
Born American with European roots, John decided on doing his MBA in Milan, Italy at Bocconi University. This gave him a more solid European footing followed by another five years investment banking experience in Italy in the industries of logistics, technology and luxury goods.
John’s been an early stage or seed investor in several businesses, including Buccellati London (haute joaillerie and objets d’art), Global Showcases (modern digital product discovery for high-net worth clients), Digital Clipboard (client on-boarding for wealth, insurance and mortgage advisors), Project X (logistics software for the ride-sharing and deliveries market) and others including digital health and children’s entertainment.
John is most passionate about energising teams and transforming entrepreneurial ventures into industry leading sustainable entities.
Cedric embraces his Swiss heritage with a strong fascination of mechanical watch complications, his favourite being the highly sought after minute repeater. Cedric’s admiration for horology drove him to advance his passion in Paris as the group development director for a multi-branded watch retailer.
Cedric has worked with the most well regarded horological maisons in the industry including: Audemars Piguet, Blancpain, Bovet, deGrisogono, DeWitt, Harry Winston, Hublot, HYT, Jacquet Droz, Ladoire, H. Moser & Cie, MB&F, Richard Mille, Roger Dubuis, Ulysse Nardin, Urwerk, and Vacheron Constantin.
While fine watches are his passion, Cedric grew up as the son of a general manager of many five star hotels around the South of France enabling him to be exposed and immersed in exclusive circles and cultures. Monaco became Cedric’s most treasured home as he found the South of France had an abundance of visitors who shared his watch enthusiasm and had a sharp eye for the intricate details of mechanical complications.
Further advancement of Cedric’s successes enabled him to enjoy advising and entertaining some of the most discerning collectors frequenting Courchevel, Monaco, Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Paris and London.
Cedric’s professional experience has included scouting, opening new boutiques in key locations, hiring and training the staff while creating and developing the network around the boutiques to increase footfall and exposure.
Cedric graduated from Tulane University (NOLA) with a Bachelor of Science in Management.
Shanyan Koder developed a passion for fine art from a young age. Coming from a family of private collectors, Shanyan's knowledge of the art world was built over two decades of collecting for her family collection, as well as for her own private collection.
In recent years, Shanyan has had the pleasure of providing a tailored and independent fine art service to new and established collectors. As Founder and Director of Shanyan Koder Fine Art, Shanyan advises across Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art, and has collected and placed works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Chris Ofili, Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn, Damien Hirst, Candida Höfer, Yue Minjun, Zeng Fanzhi, Takashi Murakami, and Andy Warhol, amongst many others.
As a respected member of the international art world, Shanyan is a Council Member of the Serpentine Galleries and a member of the women-only Artemis Council of the New Museum of New York. Shanyan also sits on the Advisory Board of Unit London, an emerging contemporary art gallery in London.
Shanyan is also Founder of Hua, now a digital platform for Chinese Contemporary Art involved in special projects with museums, institutions, galleries and the trade.
In addition to her work in Fine Art, in early 2014 Shanyan formally partnered with luxury jewellery label Buccellati as their Muse. In early 2018 Shanyan became a Muse for internationally renowned Interiors artist Sera Loftus.
Shanyan is a strong supporter of Philanthropy, and is currently an Ambassador for Borne UK. Other charities supported by and associated with Shanyan include Make a Wish Foundation, Care for Children, The Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, the Dogs Trust and the RSPCA.
Shanyan was recently featured in VOGUE China (October 2018 issue) and was the Cover Girl of Bonhams Homes and Interiors Magazine (December 2017 issue).
Originally from Hong Kong, Shanyan read English and Law at the University of Cambridge and has worked at Goldman Sachs and Sotheby's. Shanyan is a wife to a wonderful husband and a mother of two beautiful daughters.