Sotheby’s announced on Monday the appointment of Charles F. Stewart as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Tad Smith, who served as CEO of Sotheby’s since 2015. 

Smith will become a shareholder of the company and act as a senior advisor to Stewart. The new roles are effective immediately.

Stewart joins Sotheby’s from Altice USA, a cable television service owned by French-Israeli telecom mogul Patrick Drahi, who now owns Sotheby's.

Stewart was Co-President and Chief Financial Officer at Altice since 2016 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. Prior to that, he spent 19 years at Morgan Stanley as an investment banker in various leadership and client-facing roles, based in New York, Brazil and London.

Stewart led Altice to a $2.1 billion IPO and spearheaded the $200 million acquisition of the millenial-targeted news service Cheddar.

“Charlie is a talented executive who brings years of international experience to Sotheby’s," Patrick Drahi, Sotheby's owner, said in a statement. "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." 

Drahi's BidFair USA acquired Sotheby’s in a $3.7 billion deal announced last spring that took the company private.