Xero had done enough to build some profile, though, that someone owned the domain name. Brian has been included in the National Association of Corporate Directors Directorship 100, which recognizes the most influential board members. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. David is chair of Ramsay Health Care (a global hospital group), co-chair of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the Climate Leaders Coalition, and Chancellor at the University of Sydney.
They raised an initial $15 million and then used strategic placements to bring innovative leaders into their register, including Craig Winkler, Peter Thiel, and “a bunch of East Coast hedge funds.” So far they’ve raised about $280 million. Xero automates many day-to-day tasks and keeps you up to date on the money side of things wherever you are.
Meet Xero’s executive and regional leadership teams, and Board
- It was these questions that led to Xero’s “beautiful accounting software.” And the software changed everything.
- Wellington — 6 July, 2021 — Xero, the global small business platform, today marked its 15th anniversary since becoming a registered company in Wellington, New Zealand.
- Steven holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University.
- “It was a software-as-a-service company. Some generally good ideas, but with the dot-com failure that was kind of happening around the world, it kind of didn’t go anywhere. That’s how Rod and I worked together the first time.”
- Our team loves to help businesses, accountants and bookkeepers automate, collaborate and grow.
- “Some would say he’s an authoritarian, but he had a really clear vision and took people along on a journey that really drove an outcome,” he says.
Drury went on to complete xero founder a computing degree at Victoria University in Wellington, specialising in accounting and information systems. Then in 1987 he joined consulting firm Arthur Young, which later became Ernst & Young. “We’re probably the same sort of people who really like sudoku. There’s a mathematical elegance in accounting and getting accounting right.”
Rod Drury
Ashley is currently a director on the board of Spreedly, a payments orchestration platform. She holds both a Bachelor of Science in International Studies and an MBA from the University of Chicago. But he also understood that starting up an accounting software company required a huge investment—something he didn’t have.
Business Leader of the Year
The decimal point meant it was impossible to register an internet domain name anyway. “We realised that we could pick up a wifi signal from the café across the street. We could pick up the internet kind of very, very loosely,” he said. With not much funds, renting a residential flat wasn’t the only penny-pinching measure in the early days. After she joined in December 2006, Catherine, as the fresh and non-technical voice, often acted as the circuit breaker. “There was only one bathroom…. It was all quite an intimate experience, and we had lots of people coming and doing interviews,” he says.
Our experienced board, executive and leadership teams work to ensure Xero focuses on innovation and performance for our customers. Even in expansion offices like in the USA, this holds true, says Xero USA vice president of products and partnerships Herman Man. “From a financial perspective, New Zealand technology’s ‘Big Bang’ was the sale of TradeMe in 2006. A company started in 1999 was sold less than seven years later for $NZ750 million to Fairfax.” Walker recalled that, three years earlier, Drury had shown him a basic prototype of a new accounting system. The entrepreneur, having studied information systems at university, had technical skills himself and in 2003 was able to mock up a model of his big idea – but it was never spoken of again and Walker had long forgotten about it. “It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity, where it wasn’t just about providing good accounting software, but the data that was sitting on individual PCs. Once you’ve got it into a central store, that was actually really interesting,” Drury said.
Accounting software helps bankers sleep better at night
So he put the idea on hold and started an e-mail archiving company called AfterMail. After two years, he sold it to Quest Software, giving Drury and Edwards the war chest to do Xero properly. Susan is an experienced non-executive director and business leader with a particular interest in helping companies to drive growth through technology, innovation and organizational culture.
Anjali received her Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a Master of Computer Engineering from the State University of New York, and a Master of Engineering Management from Stanford University. She was awarded the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Indian Institute of Technology. Bridget is the country manager for New Zealand, responsible for overseeing the execution of New Zealand’s go-to-market strategy, revenue, market share, and advancing Xero’s brand as a leading small business platform.
Simplify everyday business admin
“We’re proud to support these organizations that align with our purpose – to improve the lives of people in small businesses, their advisors and communities all around the world. Mark is an experienced professional director with more than 20 years of international experience in corporate finance and investment banking. He is currently the chair of Chorus, a director of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, a board member of the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) New Zealand and chair of the ACC Investment Committee. His recent previous directorships include Milford Asset Management (chair) and Z Energy.
Drury told him his idea to change the world was to build a new suite of accounting software from scratch, without any preconceived ideas from existing players of how it should look, feel and act. In 1999, straight out of university, he had worked at Glazier Systems, a software development and consulting company founded by Drury. At first, Walker didn’t have much to do with the boss, but that all changed in his second year. It is still yet to turn a profit, having stuck with its strategy of pursuing growth over earnings. But the company has become a poster child for New Zealand’s tech sector, having blazed a trail for the country’s now-burgeoning tech startup industry. This week it is hosting 3000 customers at its annual event, XeroCon, in Melbourne.
Drury “had private market options, but the IPO delivered more capital at a higher valuation than other options,” Clare said. “Xero was a high-profile IPO offered by leading financial institutions to retail investors — there were risks but these were clearly articulated.” Mark Clare remembers the 2007 IPO well, including the criticisms that it exposed unsophisticated investors to a risky venture that hadn’t yet even had a product to sell. “We probably could’ve raised money on the US west coast, but if we were looking for $NZ15 million, the company would’ve had a valuation of around $NZ20 million, meaning the venture capitalists would’ve got most of the business,” he says.
A self-described software nerd, Drury locked himself in his office at home for a few weeks and wrote an early online relational bit of accounting software. Join our team of talented thinkers, creators and educators and help make life better for small businesses globally. While Drury plots the path to world domination out of Wellington, Craig Walker now plies his trade in the New York City office. In a 28th St office near the Flatiron Building, he loves his life in Manhattan leading a team of developers that work on “strategic projects”. The company was armed with ready information to teach small businesses how to find young workers, how to manage them, what the rules are on wages and probation periods — all to help them take on more young people.