Wellington, New Zealand – Long-time tech executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Xero. She succeeds Steve Vamos after serving as CEO for almost five years.
Cassidy’s appointment fully takes effect on February 1, 2023, albeit she will join Xero this November. Through the transition, she will work closely with Vamos related to the CEO transition.
She is a long-time experienced Silicon Valley executive, with more than 25 years’ global leadership experience, including as president of Asia Pacific & Latin America at Google; president at StubHub; founder of theBoardlist; founder of Joyus, where she was CEO; and co-founder of Yodlee.
Speaking on her appointment, Cassidy said, “I’m thrilled to be appointed as CEO, and appreciate the Xero Board’s confidence in me. What excites me about Xero is the people and culture of the company and the passion Xero’s partners and customers have for our product as well as the large Total Addressable Market opportunity.”
She added, “I believe Xero is a critical business tool for small businesses and their advisors. There are huge opportunities in front of us and I’m committed to building on the business’ great momentum, in line with Xero’s values. I’m looking forward to meeting Xero’s people, partners, customers and shareholders around the world, and leading the business through its next stage.”
David Thodey, chair at Xero, said, “As Xero continues to focus on achieving our global ambitions, we’re delighted to appoint someone of Sukhinder’s calibre as CEO to lead Xero through our next phase of growth. Sukhinder’s appointment follows a rigorous global recruitment process where we considered a number of exceptional candidates.”
He added, “Founded in New Zealand and ASX-listed, Xero has enormous opportunities to accelerate the adoption of cloud and digital technologies by accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses around the world. Sukhinder is based in Northern California and expects to spend considerable time in New Zealand, Australia and Xero’s other international markets.”
Thodey also acknowledged Vamos’s significant contribution to Xero’s growth and development.
“Steve has overseen significant expansion of Xero including completing several acquisitions in Canada, the US, Sweden, Singapore, Denmark, Australia and the UK; completing two capital raises; operationalising our global sales team and go-to-market channels; and introducing sustainability and climate targets for Xero,” he said.
