Exclusive Interview With Jacob Pabst, CEO Of Artnet

Jacob Pabst, Artnet CEO speaks to Dr.Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar about curiosity, vision and father-son relationship.

- Dr.Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar 

Asaf: Hi Jacob, perhaps you can start by sharing what brought you to choose the art world and Artnet of all the possible businesses you could have joined.

Jacob: Well, for a long time I was absolutely uncertain about what I wanted to do. I am a very curious person and there were many areas that interested me. I was born in Hamburg, Germany and was attracted to music, receiving classical piano training and being curious, about all types of music – from classical composers through soul and R&B to jazz. At the same time I was very interested in film and watched all the classic movies. On top of that I was always interested in art. I was also painting, but was not too confident about my talent. So it was hard to focus with such a broad spectrum of interest. At the same time, I love sports and am a keen soccer player. In the end, after high school, I decided to study medicine. I was accepted to study Medicine in Berlin and did an internship in a hospital, but then realized that I was not wholly convinced that this is what I wanted. It was only then that I applied for economics and completed these studies. My father, Hans Neuendorf, who is the founder of Artnet, was an art dealer – one of the first art dealers in Germany, bringing top art to Germany. He founded Art Cologne and has discovered many successful artists, bringing many major pop artists to Germany. So from an early age I was surrounded by art and exposed to the art market. Upon graduation from the business school, it was a time of a new economy and internet companies going public. My father was part of this movement, and although I was young, I did an internship in what later became e-bay. I was excited with Artnet and had exposure to it through my father, and became gradually more involved with this exciting new venture.