Meet the team

Simon Kidston

With a family background like his, it’s hardly surprising that Simon Kidston has carved an international reputation for himself in classic cars. Simon, 43, started his career in 1988 as assistant in the car auction department at Coys in London and found himself running it three years later. In 1996 he left to co-found Brooks (now Bonhams) Europe in Geneva and over the next decade was responsible for staging high profile events such as the annual LES GRANDES MARQUES À MONACO Sale in Monte Carlo, also creating the Ferrari auction in Gstaad and the PUR SANG À LONGCHAMP Sale in Paris. Early in 2006 Simon announced he was branching out on his own to found Kidston SA, still based in Geneva, a consultancy to aspiring and high level collectors which in less than five years has become synonymous with Private Treaty sales of the world's rarest and most beautiful motor cars.

Simon is the nephew of 1920s aviation record breaker and Bentley Boy, Commander Glen Kidston. His father, Commander Home Kidston, was just as much of a motoring enthusiast as his Le Mans-winning older brother, owning and racing a succession of magnificent cars including Bentleys, Bugattis and Mercedes-Benz.

Simon enjoys historic events at the wheel of his Lamborghini Miura SV and Mercedes Gullwing and is preparing a Bugatti 57C Atalante for the 2011 season. He judges and commentates at the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and for the past ten years has been 'the voice' of the Villa d’Este Concours in Italy and, more recently, the Mille Miglia. He also writes regular columns for Sports Car Market, Classic Cars and Ramp magazines and has presented the World’s Finest Cars shows on Smithsonian Networks TV in the USA. Multilingual Simon lives in Geneva with wife and their two children. His other passions include skiing, good food and as he admits with a wry smile “I’m a bit of a James Bond film buff, actually.” He’s currently learning to fly- having tracked down and acquired the unique Gipsy Moth racing biplane his father owned in the 1930s - albeit more safely and sedately than his celebrated uncle’s aviation exploits.

Our thanks to Bentley Motors magazine, from which this text is reproduced.

Christa Sutter

Christa left her native Germany after her diploma in commerce to study French in Brittany before moving to Geneva where she began her marketing career, initially working for famed gun maker Smith & Wesson.

Later she moved to Tuscany to run the marquis Lodovico Antinori’s marketing department, traveling widely to open new distribution networks, promoting and selling his famous wines. After several years Christa returned to Geneva and joined a renowned international editor in graphic design books. Twelve months later the company relocated to Brighton in the UK, where she continued to run the international sales department.

Back in Geneva, she joined Simon Kidston at Bonhams Europe in 2002 as business manager and followed him in his new venture in 2006. Today Christa runs Kidston SA’s office with a particular emphasis on client liaison. 

Cristiana Wicht

Italian by birth and Swiss by marriage, Cristiana joined Bonhams Europe in 2005 with responsibility for the auction firm's European Accounting and followed her colleagues to Kidston SA in 2006.

Emanuele Collo

Born in Milan, Italy, Emanuele’s passion for classic cars was encouraged from a young age by his uncles, both keen historic racers. Emanuele soon found himself attending events in his home town and at the nearby Monza circuit, later supporting the family team in rallies further afield and eventually co-driving.

Concurrently pursuing a Business degree at Italy’s famous Bocconi University, Emanuele first contacted Simon Kidston to ask for advice on a career in the classic car world whilst the latter was still running Bonhams’ European operations. Simon’s advice was to first complete his degree, and after graduating in the summer of 2008 Emanuele moved from Milan to Geneva to join Kidston SA as a junior classic car specialist.