Alexander Mark Heming Gilkes (born July 1979) is a British businessman. He is the co-founder of Squared Circles, launched in 2020, and was the co-founder and president of

Paddle8 Paddle8 was an online auction house based in New York City selling fine art including Post-War and Contemporary art, prints & multiples, photography, street art and collectibles. Paddle8's sales focus on pieces priced between $1,000 and $100,000, ...

from 2011 to 2018 when it was sold to The Native. Paddle8 is an online auction house for art and collectibles, described by '' FT'' as "reimagined art collecting for the digital age."

Early life

Gilkes is the son of Jeremy Gilkes, a dermatologist, and was born and raised in London. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

Career

Gilkes has been based in New York since 2008. Prior to founding Squared Circles, he co-founded Paddle8 in 2011, which reported "$US140 million" in sales in 2015. Prior to that, Gilkes served as an auctioneer at

Phillips de Pury & Company Phillips, formerly known as Phillips the Auctioneers (briefly as Phillips de Pury), is a British auction house. It was founded in London in 1796, and has head offices in London and in New York City. It was owned by the Mercury Group, a Russian ...

and worked at LVMH. Gilkes stepped down from his role at Paddle8 in 2018 when it was sold to The Native. In 2020, Gilkes co-founded venture studio Squared Circles along with Lukas Derksen and Paddle8 co-founder Osman Khan. Gilkes has served as auctioneer for auctions including Madonna's

Raising Malawi Raising Malawi is a charity non-profit organization that was founded by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006. It is dedicated to helping with the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans, primarily through health and edu ...

Elton John AIDS Foundation The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care a ...

and

amFAR amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of ...

. Gilkes "has been named" as one of ''Fast Company's'' Most Creative Entrepreneurs in 2017, the 100 Most Powerful People in the Art World ( ''Art + Auction'') in 2014, 2015 and 2016, a Digital Maverick ('' DETAILS''), one of the 40 Most Important People Under 40 (''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

'') and appeared on '' Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ's'' best-dressed lists. He serves on the board of the

New York Academy of Art The New York Academy of Art is a private art school in Tribeca, New York City. The academy offers a Master of Fine Arts degree with a focus on technical training and critical discourse as well as a Post-baccalaureate Certificate of Fine Art. The ...

Personal life

Gilkes married fashion designer Misha Nonoo in Venice, Italy in May 2012. Their divorce was finalised in the summer of 2017. Since 2018, Gilkes has been in a relationship with Russian former tennis player Maria Sharapova. They announced their engagement on 17 December 2020. Their son was born on 1 July 2022.

References

1979 births Living people People educated at Eton College British company founders Alumni of the University of Bristol {{UK-business-bio-1970s-stub