The Board of Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) announces the appointment of Sukhinder Singh Cassidy as Xero’s 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 years’ 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, 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.”
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 Xero’s 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 Xero’s other international markets.”
“We also want to acknowledge Steve’s significant contribution to Xero’s 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 $1.5billion 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: “I’m excited about Sukhinder’s appointment and believe she is very well placed to lead Xero through its next phase of development. I’m 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: “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.”
“I believe Xero is a critical business tool for small businesses and their advisors. There are hugeopportunities in front of us and I’m committed to building on the business’ great momentum, in line withXero’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.”
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 years’ 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 platform’s operations across its US and international sites. She also served as a member of eBay’s global executive leadership team.
Sukhinder has deep international and fintech experience. She was founder, Chair and CEO of Joyus from2011-2017. From 2003-2009, Sukhinder was President, Asia Pacific & Latin America at Google, where shesuccessfully built its operations from less than US$100 million in revenue into a multi-billion dollarbusiness, spanning 103 countries. Prior to Google, Sukhinder co-founded fintech pioneer Yodlee in 1999and served as SVP of Sales and Business Development.
A Canadian national, Sukhinder is strongly associated with technology companies in Silicon Valley. Shestarted her career in investment banking with Merrill Lynch in New York and London. She currently serveson the board of publicly traded fintech, Upstart. She also has previous experience serving on the boards ofEricsson, 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.
