From Christie’s Intern to Billion-Dollar Charity Auctioneer: Lydia Fenet’s Journey to Building Her Own Empire

Mom in the morning, business owner during day and best in class charity auctioneer at night — an everyday occurrence for Lydia Fenet.

The auctioneer is a mother of three, a two-time author and a business owner based in Manhattan.

Fenet sat down with JoberTalk to discuss her career spanning over two decades and how she turned her dream into a reality.

A Dream That Started with Princess Diana’s Dresses

“I was in college when I read an article about Christie’s Auction House,” she explained, adding, “I read this article about Princess Diana’s dresses being sold for charity and it just sounded so incredibly appealing to me.”

The born and bred Louisianan said this led her to learn more about the auctioneering world, specifically Christie’s, and she simply couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“I would say in life when I hear of something, whether it be a country to visit or a book to read, once I hear it and it’s stuck in my head, I can’t get it out,” she said, adding, “That’s what Christie’s became to me.”

The issue, however, occurred when Fenet went to apply for Christie’s college internship that was, unfortunately, already full.

“I called every day for two weeks and was told the internship program was full,” she said.

Fenet said the change in tone occurred when she switched her question from, “Can I be part of the internship program,” to, “I understand that it’s full, but these interns aren’t even really getting paid, so why is it a big deal to have one more?”

To her surprise, the Christie’s employee told Fenet that the interns visit museums in the afternoons, and they could only have 15 in the group.  

“I said, ‘I do not have to go to the museums! In fact, I don’t want to go to the museums. I want to stay at Christie’s because that’s where everything’s happening.’”

An hour later, Fenet was offered the internship she so desperately wanted — and she never looked back.

Two Decades at Christie’s: Building a Charity Auctioneering Legacy

After completing the internship and graduating from Sewanee: The University of the South, she moved back to New York and started working full-time at Christie’s.

Over the next two decades, Fenet served multiple roles — most recently as the Global Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships where she helped shape the fundraising landscape as a charity auctioneer.

Fenet was auctioneering 300 times per year, often in rooms filled with high-profile celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton Jon and Jerry Seinfeld.

Over the last nearly 25 years, Fenet has raised over one billion dollars for more than 800 organizations — and those are just on-stage accomplishments.  

Empowering Women Through Words: Becoming an Author

In 2019, Fenet wrote “The Most Powerful Woman in the Room is You,” a book written to encourage young women to take authority in any room — something she said was an obvious need.

“I had gotten to the point where I felt really confident and powerful on stage, but I also realized that there were a lot of women who would come up to me when I got off stage and tell me how they were not good at public speaking or selling,” she said.

Fenet thought to herself, “I grew up in Louisiana. My mom is British, so I was never really taught to go after things in almost an aggressive way, so how did I learn this?”

“I realized that I had learned how to be confident on stage, frankly, from just being on stage,” she said, adding, “I’ve always said that if you can learn something, you can teach it.”

Fenet said, “You can teach somebody how to sell. You can teach somebody how to visualize being strong and powerful before they walk on stage. You can talk to them about networking — and anyone can do it, not just me.”

In 2021, Fenet, her husband and three children were in a car accident that changed her perspective.

“All of a sudden, I looked around and thought, ‘It’s really nice to not be running at this pace that I’ve been running at since I was 21 years old.’”

After spending time in the hospital and undergoing multiple surgeries, Fenet said she struggled with what her next move would be.  

Although she loved her job at Christie’s, being a charity auctioneer was her favorite job of all — and she knew that helping other auctioneers excel was also a passion of hers.

Taking the Leap: Launching Lydia Fenet Agency 

After an encouraging phone call with a friend, Fenet said she called the men and women whom she had trained over the years and told them she wanted to start a talent agency.

“There were nerves around it. I mean, financially, there are always nerves around anything when you’re taking away a paycheck to replace it with a dream,” she said.

Fenet said the beauty in owning your own company is the ability to call all the shots — even if they don’t all work out.

“If I have an idea, I can execute it. If it goes well, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll try it again,” she said.

Advice for Aspiring Business Owners

The Lydia Fenet Agency founder & CEO said she’s learned some valuable lessons along the way.  

“I think more than anything, I’ve learned to hire for the things that I need,” she said, adding, “I am an ideas person, so I’ve always had teams to help me execute.”

Fenet also gave credit to her husband, who is the CFO for the agency.  

“He picked me up as one of his clients, and that’s been fantastic because obviously we have a shared interest in it going well,” she joked.

As for getting your feet off the ground, Fenet advised business owners to find inexpensive hacks to handle tasks for them.

“Hire for what you need and don’t over-hire too quickly,” she advised.

Fenet wrote her second book, “Claim Your Confidence: Unlock Your Superpower and Create the Life You Want” in 2023 — a guide to teach readers how to build confidence by getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

“You are the mouthpiece for your business,” she said, “Sales is about talking about what you’re doing.”

“There’s nothing better when you’re selling than talking about what you’re doing because you then give people the opportunity to sell it for you,” she said.

Fenet hosts a podcast, called “Claim Your Confidence,” where she connects with female business leaders on a variety of topics. She also hosted the first-ever “Most Powerful Woman in the Room Summit” in New York this November where 150 women gathered to discuss confidence, networking and how to own your power.

For more information on Fenet’s boutique auctioneering agency, visit The Lydia Fenet Agency.