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Rod Drury is stepping down from Xero’s board after the annual meeting in August. (File photo)
Tech entrepreneur Rod Drury is stepping down from the board of Xero, the cloud accounting firm he co-founded and developed into a global business worth more than A$18 billion (NZ$19b).
Drury will retire from the Xero board after the company’s annual meeting on August 17, having served as an executive director for 12 years and a non-executive director for five years, the company said in a statement to Australia’s ASX.
He will remain as an advisor to the business, supporting the board and chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, the company said.
Drury and his accountant Hamish Edwards started the firm in Wellington in 2006 following years of frustration at the clunky way financial data was shared. The company listed on the NZX in 2007, selling shares for $1 to fund expansion. The shares now trade at about A$115 on the ASX.
Xero said Drury had been integral to the company’s success, culture and strategy throughout his tenure as its founder, chief executive and director.
Chairperson David Thodey praised Drury’s “visionary leadership” that saw him build a global company with a clear vision and purpose that had digitally disrupted an industry.
Xero
Xero CEO Steve Vamos reflects on the company’s 15th anniversary with Xero co-founder Rod Drury.
Drury said it felt like the company was still at the beginning of “an amazing opportunity” and in a strong position to help power the global small business community.
In his advisory role, Drury said he would be working deeply with the company’s product teams and was especially passionate about product innovation and category expansion from cloud accounting.
From just 100 customers when it listed in 2007, Xero now has 3.7 million subscribers, more than 1000 connected apps, and hundreds of connections to banks and other financial services.
