Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has announced the retirement of its president, Rob Mackay.

After almost three decades of service in many different capacities, all based in the Ritchie Bros. head office in Vancouver, Mackay will transition from day-to-day duties and then retire as an employee Oct. 31.

Mackay joined Ritchie Bros. in 1985, after many years with his family’s highway construction business in Saskatchewan. Over the next 10 years he held numerous head office administrative positions and was closely involved with Ritchie Bros.’ expansion into overseas markets. Mackay was promoted to vice-president of the Asia Pacific division in 1995, and took on additional responsibility for South America in 2000. In 2001, he became a senior vice-president, with additional responsibilities for western North America operations. In 2002, Mackay was appointed executive vice-president, assuming responsibility for all of Ritchie Bros.’ operations in the U.S., Asia, Australia and South America. Three years later, he was promoted to company president.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. is the world’s largest seller of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, material handling, energy, mining, forestry, marine and other industries. The company has operations in more than 25 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide.