RB Global Announces Leadership Changes and Appointments

Business Wire

17 hours ago

WESTCHESTER, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RB Global, Inc. (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA), the trusted global partner for insights, services and transaction solutions, today announced leadership changes and senior management appointments, effective September 1, to position the company for accelerated and consistent growth.
'Since becoming CEO, I've been laser-focused on setting the right foundation for our growth for another 50-plus years,' said Jim Kessler, Chief Executive Officer of RB Global. 'With this go-forward structure, our teams are set up to focus on big-picture strategy and efficiency, while also strengthening how we can deliver on our commitments to each marketplace's unique needs. We're making it even easier for our partners to do business with us, helping them succeed, and setting ourselves up for strong, sustainable growth.'
RB Global's senior leadership teams will provide strategic oversight, efficient scaling and promote best practice with functional support teams at the enterprise level, while two specialized, high-performing marketplace execution teams spearhead the go-to-market level. Keeping our go-to-market leadership close to customers and the verticals they operate in helps to maximize the speed and efficiency with which buyers and sellers can do business on our platforms, add value for our partners and position the company for a strong future.
Specialized marketplace leadership teams
Carmen Thiede, Chief Transformation Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO, will begin her transition into retirement, following two years of relentless focus on critical integration work to help unlock the full value of the Ritchie Bros. and IAA businesses under RB Global. During this transition, Thiede will serve as a coach and advisor to the go-to-market leaders, using her expertise to help ensure a smooth handoff and continued momentum.
Under the new operating model, each marketplace will leverage the unified executive leadership team to set enterprise-wide vision, growth strategy and operational discipline, while empowering brand-specific go-to-market teams to drive execution tailored to their unique marketplaces. The go-to-market sales leaders – both of whom have been instrumental in driving performance alongside prior leadership – are already deeply embedded in their teams, strategies and relationships. Their proven expertise and continuity of leadership will help to ensure a smooth transition and position the business for growth in this next chapter, as Jeff Jeter, Chief Revenue Officer, begins his transition toward retirement and serves as a strategic advisor for the go-to-market leaders.
The Ritchie Bros. go-to-market teams will be led by Jake Lawson, President and Head of Ritchie Bros. North America Sales, and Shiv Dutt, who has joined RB Global as Executive Vice President and Head of Ritchie Bros. Marketplace. As leaders of the Ritchie Bros. business, Lawson and Dutt will work closely with Steve Steinberg, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Management and Decision Support, to drive gross transaction value growth within the Ritchie Bros. marketplace. Doug Rusch, Executive Vice President and Head of Strategic Accounts and Rouse in North America will continue in his current role, reporting to Lawson.
IAA's go-to-market teams will be led by Sam Wyant, Executive Vice President and Head of IAA North America Sales, and David Rymarz, who will assume an expanded role as Senior Vice President and Head of IAA Marketplace.
'In addition to forming and deepening relationships by delivering on commitments, these teams will use data to guide decisions, make sure we're meeting our goals, put our time and money where they'll have the most impact, and track our progress so our partners get the full value out of our new way of working,' Kessler said. 'We will continue to aim to overdeliver on our commitments to our partners, and provide them with the industry-leading platform to buy and sell assets in the verticals that we operate in.'
Realignment and centralization of enterprise support functions
Randy Berry, Executive Vice President and Head of IAA Operations, will be transitioning into retirement. Steve Lewis, Chief Operations Officer, will take on the responsibility of overseeing IAA's operations in addition to his current responsibilities. As part of RB Global's commitment to operational excellence, the technology team, led by Nancy King, Chief Technology Officer, will also now report to Lewis in his expanded role, helping to ensure platform enhancements are tied directly to operational priorities. Karl Werner, Chief Business Development Officer, will continue in his role leading the IAA International businesses, reporting to Lewis.
As part of the new organizational structure and priorities for the company, Eric Guerin, Chief Financial Officer, will assume an expanded role in addition to his current responsibilities, now also leading global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate development efforts, which will continue to report through Werner. Christopher Carlson, currently Senior Vice President, Global Controller, will become Chief Accounting Officer, and Darren Watt, Chief Legal Officer, will report to Guerin, helping to strengthen the connection between financial oversight and legal and regulatory compliance, including the environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting team.
Drew Fesler, Chief People Officer, will be transitioning into retirement. Jen Schmit, currently Executive Vice President, Global HR, will step into the role Chief People Officer and lead the company's global talent strategies following Fesler's transition.
"We're evolving our already strong leadership position to emphasize sharper focus, faster decision-making and stronger collaboration," Kessler said. "We're grateful to the leaders who are retiring for their many contributions in building the foundation we stand on today. Going forward, our next generation of leaders knows exactly what to focus on, how their strategies will drive consistent growth, and how to guide their teams to move with speed and unity – delivering greater impact for our partners and for the future of RB Global."
About RB Global
RB Global, Inc. (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA) is a leading, omnichannel marketplace and trusted provider of value-added insights, services and transaction solutions for buyers and sellers of commercial assets and vehicles worldwide. Through its global network of auction sites and digital platform, RB Global serves customers worldwide across a variety of asset classes, including automotive, construction, commercial transportation, government surplus, lifting and material handling, energy, mining and agriculture. The company's end-to-end marketplace solutions include Ritchie Bros., IAA, Rouse Services, SmartEquip and VeriTread. For more information about RB Global, visit www.rbglobal.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release include 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws and 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements herein include, in particular, statements relating to RB Global's leadership changes and appointments, the performance anticipated from such changes and appointments, and other subjects of this release that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by such words as 'aim,' 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'could,' 'continue,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'ongoing,' 'plan,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'will,' 'should,' 'would,' 'could,' 'likely,' 'generally,' 'future,' 'long-term,' or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of RB Global's common shares. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties relating to: our ability to drive shareholder value; potential growth and market opportunities; the level of participation in our auctions and the success of our online marketplaces; our ability to grow our businesses, acquire new customers, enhance our sector reach, drive geographic depth, and scale our operations; the impact of our initiatives, services, investments, and acquisitions on us and our customers; the acquisition or disposition of properties; potential future mergers and acquisitions; our ability to integrate acquisitions; our future capital expenditures and returns on those expenditures; our ability to add new business and information solutions, including, among others, our ability to maximize and integrate technology to enhance our existing services and support additional value-added service offerings; the supply trend of equipment and vehicles in the market and the anticipated price environment, as well as the resulting effect on our business and Gross Transaction Value ('GTV'); our compliance with laws, rules, regulations, and requirements that affect our business; effects of various economic, financial, industry, and market conditions or policies, including inflation, the supply and demand for property, equipment, or natural resources; the behavior of commercial assets and vehicle pricing; the relative percentage of GTV represented by straight commission or underwritten (guarantee and inventory) contracts, and its impact on revenues and profitability; our future capital expenditures and returns on those expenditures; the effect of any currency exchange and interest rate fluctuations on our results of operations; the effect of any tariffs on our results of operations; the grant and satisfaction of equity awards pursuant to our compensation plans; any future declaration and payment of dividends, including the tax treatment of any such dividends; financing available to us from our credit facilities or other sources, our ability to refinance borrowings, and the sufficiency of our working capital to meet our financial needs; our ability to satisfy our present operating requirements and fund future growth through existing working capital, credit facilities and debt; misappropriation of data or cybersecurity incidents; and, failure to comply with privacy and data protection laws. Other risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are included in 'Part I, Item 1A: Risk Factors', and the section titled "Summary of Risk Factors", in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as such risk factors may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date hereof. While the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Many of these risk factors are outside of our control, and as such, they involve risks which are not currently known that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed or implied herein. RB Global does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information, future events, changes in its expectations or other circumstances that exist after the date as of which the forward-looking statements were made, except as required by law.