The new managing director of Xero's New Zealand business wasn't on the hunt for a new job but said the position was "just too good" to pass up.
The online accounting software maker announced yesterday Victoria Crone would join the company as its New Zealand managing director.
Crone, general manager of sales and marketing at listed lines company Chorus, will leave in April to take up the role at Xero.
Crone said she was not actively looking for a new job when this opportunity came up.
"I have been interested in Xero for a while and known [chief executive] Rod Drury for quite a long time and had lunch with him about six months ago and we just kept in touch and this role came up and it was just too good a role to pass up really so I decided to take it after much pontification and navel-gazing," she said.
Asked if it would be a change going from Chorus - plagued by regulatory woes in the past year - to market darling Xero, Crone said: "Clearly it's a different culture, it's in a different phase of its business life so that's part of the attraction and appeal that it's a completely new challenge for me working in more of a start-up growth business.
"Chorus is a fabulous company, I've really enjoyed my time here ... I have been at Telecom and Chorus for 18 years now, so it's a good time to try something different," she said.
Crone will be responsible for driving relationships with government, financial institutions, corporates and media for Xero in this country.
Drury said: "Xero in New Zealand has rapidly grown to over 90,000 small business customers and $25 million of annualised committed revenue. We're thrilled to have a world-class executive like Victoria focused 100 per cent on our local market as we embark on the delivery of our next wave of services."
- Hamish Fletcher of the New Zealand Herald
