Joe Maddalena of Profiles in History has joined Heritage

Heritage’s news release explains it this way:

“Joe Maddalena, the founder and CEO of Profiles in History, has joined Heritage in the role of Executive Vice President. When Joe reached out to us to explore the possibility of working with us at Heritage, we were immediately excited by the potential to enlist this talented former rival as our new colleague.”

The auction business has been seeing significant change as changing tastes, Covid-19 and internet efficiencies have been turning a very traditional field into a quite different experience for buyers and sellers. Welcome to the new world. Many auction houses are thriving but the costs to stay up-to-date, with what is becoming principally a software experience, will thin the ranks of the leaders. Many Profiles in History sales were highly important and Mr. Maddalena’s contributions in particular created the Hollywood/Entertainment category. He’s a significant addition to Heritage’s already formidable resources.

How and whether Mr. Maddalena’s team at Profiles in History at Calabasas, in California will be integrated into Heritage’s plans remained to be clarified.

Heritage is becoming dominant in its many categories and has offices today in Dallas, New York, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong.

I’m sharing with you the announcement provided by Jim Halperin, Co-Chairman of Heritage Auctions:

Dear Bruce,

Nearly forty years ago, as two rivals in the rare coin business, Steve Ivy and I joined together to form Heritage. Drawing on the strength found in our different approaches to the same business, the energy we once expended in competition as rivals was quickly applied to creating an innovative auction experience for our clients. Ever since that initial partnership, we have applied the same principles to unlock the same potential: finding and developing colleagues and allies who possess a collector's passion in order to help us build Heritage into the best possible resource for collectors.

Since that time, Heritage Auctions has grown to become the third largest auction house in the world. As we've grown and developed new categories, we've done so under this guiding principle, always confident that the best possible results come from those who value relationships and who understand our business as collectors. Along the way, we have turned rivals into trusted colleagues and alliances across categories, from coins and currency, to comics and comic art, to historical memorabilia, to movie posters. Each of these new opportunities has brought not only new categories and expertise to Heritage but also more innovation across the company.

We are excited to announce that Joe Maddalena, the founder and CEO of Profiles in History, has joined us at Heritage Auctions in the role of Executive Vice President. When Joe reached out to us to explore the possibility of working with us at Heritage, we were immediately excited by the potential to enlist this talented former rival as our newest colleague. Throughout his thirty-five years at Profiles in History, Joe has demonstrated an infectious curiosity and passion for all kinds of entertainment, historical, and popular culture memorabilia. Joe has often been among the first to highlight new and emerging areas of collecting and is eager to grow the collecting community by sharing his knowledge, insights and discoveries with a broader audience.

Most of all, Joe will now be an invaluable addition to our team and resource to both bidders and consignors as we continue to innovate the auction marketplace and bring a better auction experience to our clients.

Best,
Jim

Jim Halperin | Co-Chairman
Heritage Auctions