Ritchie Bros. announced its Chief Operating Officer, Jim Kessler, will take on the additional role of President, effective immediately.

“The President role will align our global revenue, services, operations and critical support functions under Jim’s leadership,” said Ritchie Bros. CEO Ann Fandozzi. “As we accelerate our growth strategy as a company, we need a more integrated view of our strategic initiatives, resources and talent. Jim’s holistic approach to sales, marketing, and operations, makes him the ideal leader to drive topline growth and profitability from our transaction solutions.”

Kessler has more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership positions, including those of President, COO and Chief Financial Officer. He holds an undergraduate degree and MBA from Saint Joseph’s University in Pennsylvania.

Fandozzi added, “We are creating a more integrated view of our programs and resources at Ritchie Bros. to provide the best customer solutions and scale the business. I’m extremely excited about the potential in front of us and am passionate about improving the buyer and seller customer journey as I focus on accelerating our transition to a modern architecture, strategic partnerships, M&A and other foundational elements to create a more robust marketplace for insights, services, and transaction solutions for commercial assets.”