Xero poaches former Vend exec to head up Ecosystem unit

Xero has opened its doors to former Vend CMO Nick Houldsworth, who will become Xero's new Ecosystem general manager.

Houldsworth held impressive innings at Vend, a Xero partner, as chief marketing officer for six years. In a Linkedin post, Houldsworth says it felt like the right time to go.

"I will be forever grateful to Vaughan for a once-in-a-lifetime startup experience at Vend. As the company shifts into its next phase of growth, with an amazing team, it felt like the right time for me to take on a new project," he says.

Anna Curzon, Xero's chief partner officer, says Houldsworth has a great understading of the Xero App Marketplace and the company's ecosystem partners.

"He discovered it for himself many years ago as a Xero user running his own business. In fact, it's how he first came across Vend, through a Xero customer newsletter," she quips.

Houldsworth agrees, saying, "Joining Xero closes the loop on a story that started back in 2009 when, running my own small business, I started using Xero to manage my finances online.

"It was the first experience I had of business software that was enjoyable to use - it even taught me accounting basics by replacing confusing terms such as 'accounts receivables' with user friendly language like 'money coming in'," he explains.

"And the love I saw for the brand through their growing community was a revelation to me about how to market business software.

Curzon says Houldsworth will be working closely with her to continue building Xero across the small business landscape.

"We're focused on not just providing great value and a beautiful experience for our customers with our App Marketplace and Xero HQ, but on helping our partners and app builders to grow at the same time," she says.

A self-described app-a-holic, Houldsworth says is looking forward to getting stuck in and learning more about Xero's community of developers.

"I'm to join Rod and the team at Xero, and help continue the work of making the product, and ecosystem of partners, the best platform for small businesses growth," he says.

"That not only do we drive real value and beautiful experiences to our small business customers, but that we're an engine of growth for the app builders who partner with us (after all, many of them are small businesses too).