Meet the esteemed panel of judges for the 2025 edition of The Gavel, a start-up pitch competition where Master's degree students can showcase their ideas and potentially secure substantial seed funding for their future enterprises.
Master’s degree students at Sotheby’s Institute of Art are up-and-coming innovators and change-makers of the art world. With over 40% of our recent student intake letting us know they are interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial path after graduation, the Enterprise Studio was created as an extra-curricular program for Master's students to receive training and support for new business ventures, culminating in a start-up pitch competition, the Gavel.
Out of all the superb project ideas that were entered in this inaugural competition, a select few of the most innovative and market-focused business ideas are chosen to participate in the pitch competition. The pitch competition winner will receive the Gavel prize, which consists of:
- Seed funding towards your idea
- Dedicated mentor support for the first year of the business launch process
- Industry and investment introductions tailored to the winner's business proposal
The 2025 Gavel Awards will take place on May 15.
2024 Winner
Alumna Kanishka Porwal, artist and the 2024 winner of The Gavel, shares her journey at Sotheby’s Institute and her vision for One-IN-Art – a platform aimed at amplifying the cultural richness of Indian art.
Meet The Judges
Brandon Busteed – CEO of BrandEd
Brandon Busteed is an internationally recognized expert and business leader who brings a wealth of experience in the education and workforce development space, most recently as Chief Partnership Officer and Global Head of Learn-Work Innovation at Kaplan. At Kaplan he developed partnerships with top-ranked universities that help pre-college students explore majors and career paths, extended Kaplan’s advising into the corporate education benefits space through a partnership with Amazon to support their 750,000+ front line workers’ paths to new career opportunities and supported an equity and access effort enabling universities to provide free test and industry licensure prep to their students. Busteed is a frequent contributor to Forbes.com and other publications and is a LinkedIn “Top Voice.”
Louisa Buck - Art Critic, Author, Contemporary Art Correspondent for The Art Newspaper
Louisa Buck is an art critic and contemporary art correspondent for The Art Newspaper. She is also an author or co-author of books on contemporary art market, and founding member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC). GCC is an international membership organisation working to create an environmentally responsible art world.
Spencer Chandlee - Investor and Founder at Cardinal Ventures
Spencer Chandlee is a multi-time founder and operator turned investor who has, in the years since his last company, been investing in, mentoring, and accelerating early-stage startups alongside his non-profit Founders Boost and fund, Cardinal Ventures. He's recently re-entered the art world with a new VC-backed company he seeded just last year focusing on the leasing side of the business and the relationship between art and property.
Emeka Kanu - Founder at ANI
Emeka Kanu is the Founder & CEO of ANI, alwaysani.com, a corporate experiential wellness platform designed to help professional organizations attract and retain talent, build community, increase stakeholder engagement, and improve employee wellness through enhanced access to inclusive cultural spaces and experiences. Prior to founding ANI, Emeka worked within the Global Partnerships division at Google, served as a Management Consultant for Deloitte, and taught Mathematics with Teach For America and KIPP. He holds an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B.S. in Economics from Trinity College.
Mithra Stevens - CEO & Founder of smART Logistics and Gavel Winner 2023
Mithra Stevens is an art historian specialising in sustainable logistics within the fine art sector. She completed her MA in Art Logistics at Sotheby’s Institute whilst working for ROKBOX and has previous experience working as an exhibition manager and picture framer. Mithra won the Gavel competition in 2023 with smART LOGISTICS. smART LOGISTICS (sustainably managed art logistics) is a single platform that provides all the tools you need to measure and reduce your carbon footprint in the art world. Based on Greenhouse Gas Protocol criteria, the internationally recognized standard for carbon accounting, smART LOGISTICS is continually updated with the latest UK government policies and laws around emissions reporting.