Mark Poltimore joined Christie's Picture department in 1978 to deal with their Old Master, English, and 19th-century pictures and watercolors. In 1988 he became head of their Victorian and Continental Picture department and was appointed a director of Christie's in the same year. His innovations in the auction world include the first-ever sales of Symbolist, Scandinavian, and 19th-century Spanish pictures, and the first Christie's sale of Greek pictures, in Athens. Mark then became a senior director of Impressionist and 19th-century pictures and chairman of Christie's Australia. In 1998 he was appointed deputy chairman of Christie's Europe. In June 2000 he became managing director of the internet company eAuctionRoom, which broadcasts auctions live on the internet, including the sale of the contents of the Millennium Dome.