Sotheby’s Is Making Major Changes to Its Executive Leadership in the Wake of Patrick Drahi’s Acquisition

Sotheby’s new owner Patrick Drahi
is wasting no time bringing his allies into the auction house. Mere
days after Sotheby’s sale to BidFair USA, a company entirely owned
by the French-Israeli telecom magnate, was completed on Thursday,
news has surfaced that both CFO Mike Goss and
executive vice president and chief commercial officer John Cahill
are leaving the company. In their place, Jean-Luc Berrebi—who
is currently the CEO of Drahi’s family office—will take over as
CFO.

News of Goss’s departure first surfaced in a regulatory filing
made last week in connection with finalization of the $3.7 billion
acquisition. Berrebi, his replacement, previously worked to expand
Drahi’s business in Israel and spent four years as the CFO of HOT,
Israel’s largest cable operator. Before that, he was a partner at
the accounting firm Deloitte for 12 years.

The departure of Cahill, a seasoned attorney specializing in art
law who formerly ran his own firm, is perhaps more surprising.
Cahill joined Sotheby’s in early 2019 as one of two people hired
to fill the position of former COO Adam Chinn, known as a
consummate and aggressive dealmaker.

In an email to staff today announcing the staff changes, CEO Tad
Smith suggested a further organizational
reshuffling: “Jean-Luc will be taking the role of Chief
Financial Officer, reporting to me, serving as global CFO and
overseeing both Sotheby’s Financial Services and our deal-making.
As a result, Mike Goss and John Cahill will be leaving,” he
wrote.

Asked for comment, a Sotheby’s representative noted that Berrebi
will be handling both Goss and Cahill’s former responsibilities.
Ken Citron, the other hire made to replace Chinn, remains in his
position as executive vice president of operations and chief
transformation officer.

“Hopefully we will be able to keep Mike [Goss] close as a client
and a friend for years to come,” Smith wrote in the staff email.
Goss, who formerly worked for Bain Capital, leaves with a payout
worth roughly $6.5 million based on his share ownership, according
to regulatory filings.

Under the terms of the deal, Sotheby’s shareholders each
received $57 in cash for each share of Sotheby’s common stock. The
total cash payout to stockholders amounted to around $2.58 billion,
according to the filings—including $28 million for Smith, the
CEO.

In the wake of the latest news, many Sotheby’s employees are
still wondering exactly what the acquisition by Drahi—who has a
reputation for aggressive cost-cutting and using leverage to buy
undervalued assets—will mean for them.

But they may soon find out more. In an email to staff, Smith
wrote that Drahi will be in New York this week to meet the team and
review the business and industry at large. Next, he and Drahi are
heading to Sotheby’s offices in London, Paris, and Geneva before
going to Tel Aviv. Drahi “has indicated that he would like to visit
every office,” Smith wrote, “and based on his infectious energy, I
have no doubt that will happen!”

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Leadership in the Wake of Patrick Drahi’s Acquisition appeared
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