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Xero has announced two senior hires, including an ex-PwC partner who will take on the newly created position of chief accounting officer.
Xero announces senior appointments
10 March 2016
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1 minute read
Kirsty Godfrey-Billy, formerly a partner at PwC in New Zealand, has been named chief accounting officer, while Rachael Powell, who previously led the talent function for Zomato across Asia Pacific, has been appointed chief people officer. Ms Powell and Ms Godfrey-Billy will report into Sankar Narayan, Xero's chief financial officer.
Ms Godfrey-Billy will be based in Wellington and run the finance and accounting advocacy function at Xero. She has diverse work experience within both commercial business and chartered accounting firms. Her recent work with businesses from a broad mix of industries in the Taranaki region, in New Zealand, has primed her for Xero’s focus on accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses, according to a statement released by Xero.
“Demonstrating a love of technology and an entrepreneurial instinct, Ms Godfrey-Billy saw a need for a technology cluster and founded Taranaki Technology, which she currently leads,” Xero said.
Ms Powell, who will be based in Melbourne, has spent time as a management consultant working with small and medium-sized organisations along with 12 years at IBM, leading and developing teams across Australia and New Zealand and launching ISV programs into Asia Pacific.
Mr Narayan said he was “thrilled” by the two appointments.
“Kirsty’s deep knowledge of accounting and her advocacy of the industry is ideal for the next phase of our strategy as we execute on improving our business performance metrics,” he added.
“Rachael’s expertise in the technology industry combined with her recent experience in an online business will bring all the necessary skills to build capability across Xero’s global team.
“Rachael and Kirsty will further strengthen our management team as we drive strong global growth,” said Mr Narayan.
