Collection: About Us

Founder

Introducing royalty portrait artist, sculptor, and former Olympic squad swimmer, Iain Alexander doesn't exactly fit the 'artist stereotype'. While his work plays to a discerning audience with his alternative and sometimes punchy style, Alexander also made his mark across mainstream popular culture, as a signed music producer, International DJ, PR entrepreneur and owner of Dubai's first exclusive beach club at the age of 23.

Iain founded Appreciation Gallery to establish a gallery that could better align with his values of sustainability and wellness. Appreciation Gallery is a breath of fresh air in the art gallery, spear headed by Iain's creativity.

Board of Directors

Cordelia de Freitas has worked in the art world for nearly 20 years and is currently a Director within the Art Miami Group of Art Fairs, before this appointment in 2021 she served as the Managing Director for two of London's leading galleries to that, de Freitas was the founder, co-owner and director of BOX Galleries in Chelsea, London.

Cordelia’s impressive art world experiences provide her a broad unique insight into the needs of the art dealing community from the perspectives of a former gallery owner and director who has opened and run Global Art Galleries as well as participated in major international art fairs curating exhibits for emergent, mid-career cutting edge contemporary artists, along with blue-chip, primary and secondary market artists.

Head of Global Sales

Adam Capaldi has an extensive background in sales, which has spanned across 25 years. 

His passion and knowledge for art led him to gain a qualification in ‘Art in Finance in a Global Market’ from Sotheby’s Institute of Art and now Adam is considered one of the most respected art dealers within the art world, not just by his clients but also by auction houses and galleries worldwide.

After working at one of the world's leading art investment advisory for 7 years, Adam’s experience and contacts are second to none and the knowledge he brings to Appreciation Gallery and their clients is a great asset.

Creative Strategy
Kai is an experienced CEO and entrepreneur, with a passion for finding new and innovative ways to challenge the status quo and enhance our daily lives.

Kai’s last venture HiP Interactive Property, changed the way we’ll think and interact with the assets we own, in particular debt and equity in buildings. We coined the phrase ‘’property banking’’.

Prior to HiP, Kai led successful start-ups and established companies across Internet, mobile, banking and IT.They included an IT consultancy trading within top-tier investment banks, a social/retail marketing platform, luxury watch brand, luxury car club and several innovative betting companies through social, affiliate, sports and bitcoin betting concepts, including a bitcoin casino.

More recently venturing into greener fields, like decentralised carbon offsetting, sustainable art, and regenerative finance.

Head of Technology
Toby has been working in creative agencies for over 7 years, leading complex web and app development projects with large and highly-skilled teams. He has worked across a wide variety of businesses from publicly listed companies to high street banks. He has consistently delivered and built long-lasting relationships.

Toby now has a keen interest in enabling businesses to grow faster and better through; enhancement to their tech stack, automation of business processes and ensuring they stay at the forefront of technology in their respective industries.

Environmental Ambassador
Andrew is Group Chief Executive at One Carbon World. He has a demonstrated history of working at international level. He is a specialist at driving change and passionate about what drives us all.

Wellness Ambassador

Peter is a Clarity (3 Principles) coach, cognitive hypnotherapist and NLP master practitioner who trained at Regents University in London with Jamie Smart (Clarity) and Trevor Silvester (Quest Institute)

He is also a broadcaster with more than thirty years experience

He has lots of letters after his name but he can’t remember them all!

Peter’s passion is helping people get out of their own way and become the best possible version of themselves

Risk Assessment Advisor

Vivienne Shepherd Ltd, an independent financial services firm registered by the FSA (now FCA), specialised in risk management for pensions and investments. Starting her career just before the 1987 Black Monday crash, Vivienne was driven to safeguard client funds, influencing her future approach. She became one of the first women to qualify as an independent adviser in 1992, advocating against high commissions and poor ongoing client care.

Prior to the Pensions Acts of 1993 and 1995, she studied company pensions, warning of potential shortfalls in schemes and predicting the decline of with-profit funds—insights that were initially ignored by the industry. Vivienne prioritised long-term client relationships, updated advice, and fund protection. She pioneered a diversified investment stop/loss system and was an early adopter of the Transact platform in 1999, educating clients on its benefits for transparent and efficient trading. Over 27 years, her dedication retained a solid client base, underscoring her invaluable expertise in alternative investment options.