Sotheby's appoints Charles F. Stewart as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who has served as Co-President and Chief Financial Officer of Altice USA. He assumed the role at Altice USA following more than two decades of operations, financial and corporate leadership experience in the U.S., Latin America and Europe, most recently as CEO of Itau BBA International plc. Stewart succeeds Tad Smith, who worked as Sotheby's CEO since 2015 and now acts as a senior advisor to Stewart and also a company’s shareholder.

Patrick Drahi, Owner, Sotheby's, commented, “Charlie is a talented executive who brings years of international experience to Sotheby's. I have known him for many years and have been impressed by his appetite for innovation, taking smart risks, and challenging the status quo. He has a proven record of driving growth and is ideally positioned to create value for Sotheby's clients and our outstanding team. I also want to thank Tad Smith for his leadership over the past four and a half years. Sotheby's reached a new level of success during his tenure and I am delighted we will continue to benefit from his experience in an advisory capacity”.

During his working tenure at Altice USA, Charles aided establish the Company as one of the leading technology, telecommunications and entertainment providers in the country. He not only drove various operational and financial activities that integrated and transformed the Company, refocusing it for innovation and growth but also led the Company's successful $2.1 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (largest telecom IPO in 15 years).

Atop, he boosted the expansion of Altice USA's advertising and news businesses which included launch of a4, Altice's advanced advertising platform, and numerous strategic acquisitions, as well as the growth of Altice news through the acquisition of Cheddar, integration of i24NEWS, and continued investment in hyperlocal news network News 12 Networks.

Charlie is a talented executive who brings years of international experience to Sotheby's. He has a proven record of driving growth and is ideally positioned to create value for Sotheby's clients and our outstanding team

A graduate from Yale University, Charles has also served as CEO of Itau BBA (the international holding company for Itau-Unibanco) where he oversaw Itau-Unbanco's wholesale and private banking activities across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the U.S. Before that, he spent 19 years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in various client and leadership roles, including as deputy head of investment banking for EMEA, head of Latin America Investment Banking, and member of the global investment banking management committee.

Excited to join Sotheby's, Stewart said, “I am thrilled to be joining such a successful and storied organization. Sotheby's is renowned throughout the world for deep expertise, trusted relationships, and a long history of innovation. I look forward to adding my expertise to the talented global team and building on the success that has been established over nearly three centuries”.

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744 and became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, the company has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris.

It provides collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's also presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and three retail businesses: Sotheby's Wine, Sotheby's Diamonds, and Sotheby's Home, the online marketplace for interior design.