New corporate hires for Xero

Accounting software firm Xero has added new hires to its management ranks, in the form of a chief accounting officer and chief people officer.

Rachael Powell heads to Xero from Zomato and will take up the CPO role, while for PwC partner Kirsty Godfrey-Billy will run the company's finance and accounting advocacy function in the CAO role.

Both position report to Xero's CFO Sankar Narayan.

Based in Melbourne, Powell has previously spent time in management consulting, along with 12 years at IBM, leading and developing teams across Australia and New Zealand and launching ISV programs into Asia Pacific.

Godfrey‐Billy will be based in Wellington to run the finance and accounting advocacy function at Xero, and comes from a background in commercial business and chartered accounting firms.

"As we accelerate our growth globally, I am thrilled to have the calibre of Kirsty and Rachael join our Xero corporate team," comments Narayan.

"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.

"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," he says.

"Rachael and Kirsty will further strengthen our management team as we drive strong global growth.