SML x Anita Ragusa on the Importance of Company Culture, Part I

Positive company culture is more than a buzzword. In today’s competitive hiring market, it’s a necessity for attracting and retaining top talent—especially within the art world. For this two-part interview, SML sat down with Anita Ragusa, HR Director at Karma and seasoned HR consultant, to discuss how clear leadership, communication, and a strong mission can shape a positive workplace and contribute to the long-term success of both employees and businesses in the arts.

SML: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us, Anita! I’d love to start by hearing a bit about your career path. You’re currently the HR Director at Karma as well as an HR Consultant, and you’ve also worked with other major commercial art businesses like Bonhams and Pace. Could you tell me a bit more about how you began working in the arts, and what drew you to a career in HR?

Anita Ragusa: I started my career in the arts with an internship at Gagosian my senior year at the Cooper Union School of Art. I had an opportunity to intern at their iconic 980 Madison Avenue location, and we got a crash course seeing how Larry operates and how everyone at the gallery worked together.

I became interested in how sales worked, and that kind of led me to how operations work overall. I also have a degree in biology, so I think operations spoke to my love of order, figuring things out, and putting things together while still being creative. That led to my next role at David Zwirner in operations, and then down the path of human resources. I never envisioned that this was where I would end up, but I really love what I do every day. It’s such a diverse role; I never really know what my day will be like. I enjoy helping people, and because I can still be immersed in the arts, it’s the perfect thing for me.

SML: I feel like you can never really be bored in an HR role.

AR: Never. There’s so much variety and a different thing every day.

SML: Turning to the importance of a business’s culture in attracting talent, how would you describe a positive company culture?

AR: I think when a company has a very clear mission and vision that they can communicate to their staff, that’s something that people gravitate towards because it paves a clear path of what their purpose is at the company, and why their job is important in the bigger organizational structure. Culture is one of those things that starts with leadership, and a big component is also clear communication, collaboration, and access to one another, and to leadership as well. So, I think those things establish strong internal cultural DNA and establish trust between an employee and their colleagues.

SML: In your experience, how important is company culture to attracting and retaining top talent, especially within art world organizations?

AR: Obviously, compensation and benefits are important factors in attracting and retaining talent, but culture is also a very important component. I think at times in your career, you may be more tolerant of tougher working environments, but other times, you may long for something a bit more constructive and positive in the long term. I think either can be fine, depending on what your career goal is, but it’s important to understand that when you’re there for such a long part of your day, work should always be a place where you feel valued and a place where you can continue to grow and learn.

SML: When candidates reach a point where they are more senior, I think it can also take quite a lot to coax them away from their current role, and a company’s culture can make or break their decision at times.

AR: You hit the nail on the head there. Your company culture is your calling card, and it can go beyond just retaining talent; as a business, it can also mean that talent will come to you if they know that you value the individuals who work for you.

SML: What would you say are the indicators that a business has a strong culture?

AR: When I see colleagues working well together, stepping in for each other, and not being bound by a mindset of “This is my job, I only do X, Y, and Z.” That natural collaboration shows a very strong company culture and fluency between departments where there aren’t roadblocks to things getting done because the team can communicate freely. Some of that is built organically, but I think it also comes from an established company culture. It’s a hard thing to build, but when you see it, it’s amazing.

SML: What trends are you seeing in the art world in terms of company culture and how businesses are adapting to those trends, and what are some unique challenges art world businesses face when it comes to fostering a positive environment?

AR: I’m seeing a lot more importance being placed on what company culture really means to an individual business, and how investing in your employees is seen as investing in your business long term. When you can see that a company does that and champions that, you know you’re heading into the right working environment.

 In terms of challenges, we’re a very unique industry. We’re blending luxury, we’re blending creativity, we’re also a business. I think people can perceive the art world as being very stuffy and snobby without understanding the complexity of what it takes to run a business in this industry. So, a lot of the time, someone’s initial perception is not very accurate.

 It’s also very hard to compare us to other industries, and that means we have had to build our own cultural identity from scratch. We have to ask: what makes us so special? Why would someone want to work here? Do we care what our clients and artists think about us? How are we perceived?

Stay tuned for the second part of our interview with Anita on Monday, September 16th.  

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Anita Ragusa has more than 15 years of experience leading and establishing HR functions at international galleries and auction houses. Currently the HR Director at Karma Gallery as well as a Human Resources Consultant for a broad spectrum of clients in creative industries, Anita has also held previous positions as the Director of People, U.S. at Bonhams, Human Resources Director at Pace Gallery, and prior roles at David Zwirner and Gagosian. Anita received her Bachelor of Applied Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology from St. John’s University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, Photography, and Graphic Design from The Cooper Union in Manhattan.