Board of Directors

Corporate Governance

Board of Directors

Robert Murdoch — Chairman

Bob Murdoch was elected to the Ritchie Bros. Board in 2006, becoming Chairman in 2008. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia and a law degree from the University of Toronto, Bob spent the majority of his career with Lafarge Corporation and affiliates, suppliers of construction materials, retiring from the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge North America Inc. (NYSE & TSX: LAF) in 1992. Bob was a member of the board of Lafarge, S.A. (NYSE: LR; Paris Stock Exchange (Eurolist): LG), the Paris-based parent company of Lafarge Corporation, until 2005. Bob is a director of Lallemand Inc. and Weatherhaven Inc.

Peter Blake

Peter Blake joined Ritchie Bros. as a controller in 1991, having worked previously with predecessor firms of KPMG and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. In 1994 he was appointed Vice President, Finance, and in 1997 was appointed Chief Financial Officer and elected to the Board of Directors. In 2002 he was promoted to Senior Vice President and in 2004 Peter became the Chief Executive Officer of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. Peter is a Chartered Accountant with a Diploma of Technology from BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta.

Beverley Briscoe

Bev Briscoe was appointed to the Ritchie Bros. Board in 2004. Ms. Briscoe has an extensive background working in industries complementary to the auction business and currently is owner and President of Briscoe Management Ltd, a consulting company she has owned since 2004. Ms. Briscoe previously owned and was president of Hiway Refrigeration Limited. Before that she held executive positions with Wajax Industries Ltd., the Rivtow Group, and the Jim Pattison Group, and was a manager at a predecessor firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Briscoe is a member of the board of Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: "G"; NYSE: "GG"), as well as a director of several non-profit organizations, including Forum of Women Entrepreneurs and Minerva Foundation. Ms. Briscoe holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a Chartered Accountant (Fellow). Ms. Briscoe is currently Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.

Eric Patel

Eric Patel was first elected to the Ritchie Bros. Board in 2004. Mr. Patel has extensive business and financial experience, most recently as CFO of Pembrook Mining Corp. (formerly Paget Resources Corporation), a private mining company that he left in 2010. Prior to that Mr. Patel acted as the CFO of Crystal Decisions, Inc., a privately held software company. Mr. Patel joined Crystal Decisions in 1999 after holding executive level positions, including that of CFO, with University Games, Inc., a privately held manufacturer of educational toys and games. Before 1997, Mr. Patel worked for Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream as Director of Strategy, for Marakon Associates strategy consultants and for Chemical Bank. Mr. Patel sits on the Advisory Board of ACL Services Ltd. and on the board of Daiya Foods Inc. Mr. Patel holds an MBA degree. Mr. Patel is currently a member of the Audit Committee and is Chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.

Edward Pitoniak

Ed Pitoniak was appointed to the Company's Board in 2006 and is currently Chair of the Company's Compensation Committee. Mr. Pitoniak is a businessman and until 2008 was President and CEO of bcIMC Hospitality, a private hotel company. Prior to joining the predecessor firm of bcIMC Hospitality Group in 2004 (Canadian Hotel Income Properties Real Estate Investment Trust – TSX: "HOT.un"), Mr. Pitoniak was a Senior Vice-President at Intrawest Corporation for eight years. Before Intrawest, Mr. Pitoniak spent nine years with Times Mirror Magazines, where he held both top editorial and advertising positions with Ski Magazine — specifically, editor-in-chief and advertising director. Mr. Pitoniak has a Bachelor of Arts degree. He is a director of Regal Lifestryle Communities Inc. (TSX:RLG).

Christopher Zimmerman

Chris Zimmerman was elected to the Company's Board in 2008. Mr. Zimmerman was appointed President of Easton Sports, Inc. in March 2010, which is a designer, developer and marketer of sports equipment and accessories. He resigned in 2009 from the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, a sports entertainment company in Vancouver, B.C. Before joining the Canucks organization, Mr. Zimmerman was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nike Bauer Inc., a hockey equipment company. Prior to this appointment in March 2003, Mr. Zimmerman was General Manager of Nike Golf USA, in Beaverton, Oregon. He joined Nike Golf in 1998 after spending 16 years in a variety of senior advertising positions, including USA Advertising Director for the Nike Brand and Senior Vice President at Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising in New York. Mr. Zimmerman has an MBA degree from Babson College. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the Compensation Committee.

Robert Elton

Bob Elton was elected to the Ritchie Bros. Board in 2012. Bob is currently acting as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union and is also a corporate director and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. Mr. Elton held a number of positions at BC Hydro, a government-owned electric utility, between 2001 and 2009, including President and Chief Executive Officer and EVP Finance and Chief Financial Officer. He was also CFO at Eldorado Gold Corporation from 1996 until 2001 (TSX: "ELD"; NYSE "EGO"; ASX: "EAU"). Bob spent over 20 years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and predecessor firms, becoming Partner in 1987 before leaving the firm in 1996. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in British Columbia and has a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge University, U.K. Bob is a director and chair of a number of not for profit Boards as well as Chair of the Board of Governors of Simon Fraser University. He sits on the advisory board for Nurse Next Door and is a director of Aquatics Informatics Inc. 

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