Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers appointed Jim Kessler as chief operating officer. In his new role, Kessler will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company as well as work in close collaboration with the leadership team and leverage the expertise and capabilities across the enterprise to deliver operational excellence together with an exceptional customer experience. He will serve as a member of Ritchie Bros. executive committee and report to Ann Fandozzi, CEO.

Kessler has held various leadership positions in his career including those of president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer. He acted as chief operating officer of Abra Auto Body & Glass, where he oversaw operations, procurement and growth initiatives which led to the merger of the first national collision repair provider in the United States. He also held a variety of senior leadership positions at Caliber Collision, vRide and Pep Boys. Most recently, Kessler served as president of Emerging Business for Caliber Collision during which he focused on evaluating and scaling businesses that would complement collision repair services.

“As we continue executing our long-term growth strategy, this is the right time to add a COO to our leadership team,” said Ann Fandozzi, chief executive officer of Ritchie Bros. “Jim will play a critical role of driving a seamless, world-class customer experience which will leverage Ritchie Bros.’ technologically enabled multi-channel offering. Jim brings a tremendous depth of operational acumen together with business savvy and a relentless customer focus that are essential in a COO to drive continued success and value for our customers and our company.”

“I am thrilled to join Ritchie Bros. and looking forward to continuing and enhancing the great customer experience which the company is renowned for,” Kessler said. “This will be accomplished by having the best trained team, an inspired culture, processes that are easy to manage and cutting-edge technology. I am looking forward for Ritchie Bros. continuing to be a powerhouse industry leader and ensuring we have the infrastructure and flexibility to continue our growth well into the future.”