Sotheby's picks Madison Square Garden chief as CEO

New York

SOTHEBY'S reached outside the art world on Monday to appoint Tad Smith, a businessman with a background in the entertainment, sport and media industries who most recently led Madison Square Garden Co, to replace departing chief executive William Ruprecht.

Mr Smith, 49, who describes himself as an art enthusiast but has no corporate experience in that market, enters an industry in flux as it confronts questions of profitability and how to expand into new global markets and respond to challenges posed by the Internet, where the selling of items has grown.