Gilles Dyan's Opera galleries succeed by combining his art expertise and his marketing savvy

Gilles Dyan was very nearly a doctor - until he realised he wasn't too keen on the sight of blood. So he pulled out of his studies in medicine, switched to marketing and now, several decades down the road, finds himself in a more aesthetically pleasing environment than a doctor's surgery.

The founder of Opera Gallery in Paris, Dyan opened the first branch in Singapore in 1994, and today has 11 galleries around the world, including one on Wyndham Street in Central. With two significant anniversaries this year - 20 years since he founded Opera and 10 years since the Hong Kong salon opened - it's a good time to take stock of how far he and the gallery have come.

Right from the start, Dyan had dreams of developing globally and his concept was different from other galleries. Rather than specialising in one style or region, Opera Gallery's scope is broad, covering the 20th century from the Impressionists to American pop artists, contemporary artists and then some of the great masters thrown into the mix.

Established artists' works rub shoulders with those of emerging artists - it's a melting-pot approach that he says dealers don't much like, but his clients and collectors love. And the price point is equally broad, with works going from HK$100,000 to HK$8 million.

The location of the galleries is critical. "I come from a marketing side. For me it was important to establish in prime locations close to luxury brands," says Dyan, whose London gallery is on New Bond Street while the Singapore salon is on Orchard Road.

Along the way, he received an arts degree and became a member of the European Chamber of Expert-Advisors in Fine Art, which meant that for a while he did art valuations for insurance companies. But he doesn't have time for that now.