Nathan Drahi appointed managing director of Sotheby's Asia operations as Kevin Ching retires

Nathan Drahi, the 26-year-old son of billionaire Patrick Drahi, will become managing director of Sotheby's Asia operations at year's end. This appointment follows Kevin Ching Sau-hong's retirement as Asia CEO after 15 years with the auction house. Ching will transition to chairman emeritus and continue mentoring the younger Drahi. Nathan joined Sotheby's after his father's $3.7 billion acquisition of the company in 2019, bringing banking and private equity experience to strategic projects. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Ching described himself as 'more of a manager of the old world,' noting that the industry's digitization and financialization require a digital native with finance expertise. He recalled that when he started, linking art and investment was discouraged, but expensive art has transformed paintings into more than just art. This leadership change follows the departure of former president and global CEO Tad Smith shortly after Patrick Drahi took Sotheby's private. The French billionaire replaced Smith with Charles Stewart, former CFO of his telecom company Altice.