Xero names Curzon as Crone successor

Anna Curzon, new Xero NZ managing director. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Anna Curzon has been appointed as accounting software firm Xero's New Zealand managing director after Victoria Crone stepped down last week to pursue the Auckland mayoralty.

Curzon is the former Spark general manager of digital first and will be a key member of Xero's global sales leadership team when she starts in February, based in the company's Auckland office.

In July, Curzon spoke to the NZ Herald as part of our "Young Guns - Rising stars of business" video series:

Xero chief executive Rod Drury said he was excited to welcome Curzon to the team.

"We've worked alongside Anna for many years," Drury said. "Her blend of technology and digital banking experience is ideal for the next phase of our New Zealand strategy as we digitally connect Banks, large corporates and Government into our network of small businesses," he said. "We've been fans of Anna for a long time and are delighted to have her lead our New Zealand business."

Thrilled to welcome digital banking wiz @Anna_Curzon to run @xero in NZ. Another awesome NZ tech leader making a difference.

— Rod Drury (@roddrury) December 20, 2015

Curzon's previous roles also include general manager for internet banking at ASB, with Xero saying this online, financial services experience would be valuable to the company.

Outgoing Xero NZ managing director Victoria Crone. Photo / Nick Reed

Xero also announced the appointment of Doug LaBahn as Xero's vice-president of partner and product marketing. LaBahn will be based in Xero's San Francisco office, and has experience in leading global companies including Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and CircleBack and most recently Sage, where he was leading cloud, mobile, accountants and the global launch of Sage Live with Salesforce.com.

Curzon and LaBahn would report to Andy Lark, chief marketing and business officer.