Ritchie Bros. appoints Beverley Briscoe as board chairwoman

Burnaby-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (TSX:RBA) has appointed a new chairwoman to lead the company’s boardroom.

The June 30 announcement that Beverley Briscoe is replacing outgoing chairman Robert Murdoch comes just days after the federal government released a report calling on Canadian companies to ensure women occupy 30% of board positions within five years.

The Status of Women Canada study noted women hold just 16% of board positions at Financial Post (FP) 500 companies in Canada. Meanwhile, 40% of publicly traded companies don’t have any women in the boardroom.

Murdoch stepped down from the chairman post after reaching the mandatory age limit but he will remain as a board director until the end of 2014.

Briscoe served as a board director at Ritchie Bros. for more than a decade and has held the role of deputy chairwoman since September 2013. She is also a board director atVancouver-based Goldcorp (TSX:G).

“It is very important to me that there are more women on corporate boards,” she told Business In Vancouver in an email.

“I had expected to see more progress over this past 10 years particularly given the strong business case that is made with diversity in the boardroom.”

But Briscoe, who was part of the Federal Advisory Council for Promoting Women on Boards, said she was pleased with the recommendations that came from Ottawa last week.

Her appointment comes two weeks after Ritchie Bros. announced Ravi Saligram is succeeding Peter Blake as CEO as of July 7. Saligram will join Briscoe on the board.