Xero has today announced the appointment of Sankar Narayan as its new Chief Financial Officer, joining from Virgin Australia where he is currently its CFO.
According to the growing Kiwi company, Narayan brings international business and consumer market experience from senior executive roles in a number of organisations and ASX listed companies - these include as CFO at Fairfax Media Limited, FOXTEL, and Astro (Malaysia).
Narayan will have responsibility for Xero’s global financial and administrative functions, and strategy drawing on his extensive experience and leadership in global capital markets to position Xero strongly in the execution of the next phase of its global growth strategy.
Narayan will commence his new position in October 2015 with Ross Jenkins, Xero’s acting CFO, will then resuming his role as Xero’s Chief Operating Officer.
“We’ve known Sankar for many years and appreciated his advice during the early years of Xero,” says Rod Drury, CEO, Xero.
“We are thrilled to have a global executive of his calibre help take us to the next level. Sankar is a fantastic fit for Xero.
“He is high energy, results-driven, and operates globally. He brings a wealth of global financial experience in businesses that operate at scale in fiercely competitive markets.”
Narayan spent eight years in the US working as a computer engineer in Silicon Valley, and obtaining a Masters in Business Administration from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York.
Narayan also worked as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and is a Certified Practising Accountant and Fellow of CPA (Australia).
“Xero has delivered phenomenal success to date, and its global potential is immense,” Narayan adds. “I’m incredibly excited to join Xero.
“Software engineering was an early passion of mine and I’m delighted to bring my experience in high volume consumer and business markets.
“I’ve long admired Xero’s culture and its relentless focus on innovation, customer experience, and operational excellence.”
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