Andy Lark leaves Xero in exec shake-up

Andy Lark, a high-profile ex-pat New Zealander, joined Xero two years ago as the company bolstered its push into the US market.. Photo / Natalie Slade

Xero's chief marketing officer Andy Lark is leaving the accounting software firm amidst a management shake-up.

Lark, a high-profile ex-pat New Zealander, joined Xero two years ago as the company bolstered its push into the US market. He previously acted as former global marketing executive for Dell and chief marking officer for Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

In an overhaul to its management structure announced to the stock exchange this morning, Xero said it was appointing a new head of its Americas operation and giving chief financial officer Sankar Narayan more responsibility to build out the business.

The new management structure will also see country managers reporting to chief executive Rod Drury.

Lark's chief marketing and revenue officer position is being disestablished and a new chief marketing officer position will focus on brand and marketing, Xero said.

The establishment of the chief people officer and chief accounting roles free up CFO Narayan "to broaden his focus to drive operational outcomes and revenue globally," the company said.

Xero has hired former Capital One executive Keri Gohman to run its Americas business, which she will run from Denver "where future US operational investments will be focused, supporting Xero's hubs in San Francisco, New York, Austin and Seattle" when she starts in December, it said.

The cloud-based accounting software developer's current US head, Russ Fujioka, will leave the company at the end of the year.

Xero expects to cross the one million customers this year, and has set a target of achieving $1 billion in annual revenue.

The company had 717,000 customers as at March 31 with annualised monthly committed revenue of $258 million for its cloud-based accounting software.

The shares were unchanged at $17.84, and have dropped 9.9 per cent so far this year.