Xero announces CEO succession, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy appointed

Transition from Steve Vamos to new CEO to occur on 1 February 2023

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Nov. 9, 2022 /CNW/ -- (ASX:XRO) - The Board of Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) announces the appointment of Sukhinder Singh Cassidy as Xeroʼs new CEO, from 1 February 2023. Sukhinder will succeed Steve Vamos who, after serving almost five years as CEO, is retiring from the role and plans to return to his previous portfolio in business coaching and leadership development as an advisor, director and investor.

Sukhinder is an experienced Silicon Valley executive, with more than 25 yearsʼ global leadership experience, including as President, Asia Pacific & Latin America at Google; President at StubHub; founder of theBoardlist; founder of Joyus, where she was CEO; and co-founder of Yodlee. She has significant public and private board experience with multiple companies.

Xero Chair David Thodey commented: "As Xero continues to focus on achieving our global ambitions, weʼre delighted to appoint someone of Sukhinderʼs calibre as CEO to lead Xero through our next phase of growth. Sukhinderʼs appointment follows a rigorous global recruitment process where we considered a number of exceptional candidates."

Sukhinder will start at Xero on 28 November 2022. She will work closely with Steve to manage the CEO transition, with Steve remaining available to advise through to the end of May 2023.

Mr Thodey continued: "Sukhinder is a purpose-driven and human-centred leader who is passionate about supporting our customers and is committed to growing and nurturing Xeroʼs unique and vibrant culture."

"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 Xeroʼs other international markets."

"We also want to acknowledge Steveʼs significant contribution to Xeroʼs growth and development as a global business. Steve has led Xero from 1.4 million to 3.5 million subscribers; from $484.4 million to $1.5 billion annualised monthly recurring revenue; and total subscriber lifetime value (LTV) from $3.2 billion to $13 billion."

"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."

"Steve is a highly respected leader. He led our people, customers and partners through COVID as many of our small business customers, bookkeepers, accountants, and ecosystem partners had to adapt the way they operated and find pathways for business survival."

Steve Vamos commented: "Iʼm excited about Sukhinderʼs appointment and believe she is very well placed to lead Xero through its next phase of development. Iʼm looking forward to working with Sukhinder to achieve a smooth leadership transition. Sukhinder has the opportunity to take Xero to the next level and continue to deliver world-class products and services that are critical for our customers and partners."

"It has been a privilege to build on the legacy of our founder Rod Drury to position Xero for continued growth around the world. Our partners, customers and other key stakeholders increasingly recognise the benefits of cloud applications and services which support small business success."

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy commented: "Iʼm thrilled to be appointed as CEO, and appreciate the Xero Boardʼs confidence in me. What excites me about Xero is the people and culture of the company and the passion Xeroʼs partners and customers have for our product as well as the large Total Addressable Market opportunity."

"I believe Xero is a critical business tool for small businesses and their advisors. There are huge opportunities in front of us and Iʼm committed to building on the businessʼ great momentum, in line with Xeroʼs values. Iʼm looking forward to meeting Xeroʼs people, partners, customers and shareholders around the world, and leading the business through its next stage."

Steve Vamos is entitled to his remuneration for the period of employment and his statutory benefits. His short term and long term incentives will be treated in accordance with their terms, with the Board exercising its discretion to allow his deferred short term incentive and his long term incentives to remain on foot, pro rating his long term incentives for the period of employment, and any vested options to be exercised within two years of the applicable vesting date.

About Sukhinder Singh Cassidy

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is an experienced CEO, digital leader and board member with more than 25 yearsʼ experience building and scaling global companies including Google, Amazon, Yodlee, Joyus and StubHub.

From 2018-2020, as the President of StubHub Inc (a subsidiary of eBay) - a leading global ticketing marketplace for live entertainment with US$5 billion in GMV, and over US$1 billion in global revenues Sukhinder was responsible for the platformʼs operations across its US and international sites. She also served as a member of eBayʼs global executive leadership team.

Sukhinder has deep international and fintech experience. She was founder, Chair and CEO of Joyus from 2011-2017. From 2003-2009, Sukhinder was President, Asia Pacific & Latin America at Google, where she successfully built its operations from less than US$100 million in revenue into a multi-billion dollar business, spanning 103 countries. Prior to Google, Sukhinder co-founded fintech pioneer Yodlee in 1999 and served as SVP of Sales and Business Development.

A Canadian national, Sukhinder is strongly associated with technology companies in Silicon Valley. She started her career in investment banking with Merrill Lynch in New York and London. She currently serves on the board of publicly traded fintech, Upstart. She also has previous experience serving on the boards of Ericsson, Trip Advisor, Urban Outfitters, Stitchfix and J.Crew.

Sukhinder is an advocate for advancing diversity and inclusion; in 2015 she founded theBoardList, an online talent marketplace connecting CEOs with qualified diverse board candidates who are peer endorsed. She is also the author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller, "Choose Possibility" which offers advice on how to manage and optimise risk-taking for professional growth.

Authorised for release to the ASX by Xeroʼs Board of Directors

About Xero

Xero is a global small business platform with 3.5 million subscribers which includes a core accounting solution, payroll, workforce management, expenses and projects. Xero also has an extensive ecosystem of connected apps and connections to banks and other financial institutions helping small businesses access a range of solutions from within Xeroʼs open platform to help them run their business and manage their finances. For three consecutive years (2020-2022) Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. In 2021, Xero was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), powered by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Xero is a FIFA Womenʼs Football partner under FIFAʼs new commercial structure.

SOURCE Xero

Kate McLaughlin - Communications, Mobile: [phone], [email protected]; Nicole Mehalski - Investor Relations, Mobile: [phone], [email protected]