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Sotheby’s CFO Resigns Amid Investor Pressures
Patrick McClymont will be stepping down from the role next week following activist investors’ calls for changes in senior management.
New York--Dennis Weibling is now the interim chief financial officer at Sotheby’s, following activist investors’ calls for changes in senior management that reportedly led to the ousting of Patrick McClymont.
McClymont, who had been Sotheby’s CFO since 2013 as well as the auction house’s executive vice president, came on board with the auction house just as investor Daniel Loeb, founder of the Third Point hedge fund and Sotheby’s largest shareholder, was criticizing it and now-departed CEO William Ruprecht for low returns, Bloomberg reports.
Activist investors reportedly have been pushing for change in senior management for the past 12 to 18 months (Loeb became a Sotheby’s board member in 2014).
On Thursday, Sotheby’s announced that McClymont, who was a partner and manager at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. prior to joining the auction house, officially will step down on Dec. 31 but remain on board until Jan. 31 to ensure a smooth transition.
He will receive a $3.75 million cash severance, Sotheby’s said.
Weibling, a member of the Sotheby’s board of directors since 2006 and current chair of the board’s audit committee, will assume the role of interim CFO Jan. 1. He previously served as managing director of Rally Capital LLC, a private equity fund, and also has held positions at Telesphere Networks, Eagle River and Nextel Partners.
Sotheby’s President and CEO Tad Smith said Weibling will “continue to achieve our aims, while taking the time necessary to find the right, long-term (CFO).”
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