Xero’s Rod Drury wants one, Labour’s offering one, but National aren’t so keen on a taxpayer funded chief technology officer for New Zealand.

Debate has broken out on twitter after Labour said it will appoint a chief technology officer - something Xero boss Rod Drury has been advocating.

Barack Obama has one. So do many large companies, writes Rod Drury. The chief technology officer's role, for the US at least, is to apply technology to help create jobs, reduce the cost of health care.

Rod Drury, the boss of online accounting software firm Xero was in the city-state on the French Riviera this month for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

A rollercoaster morning has seen shares in accounting software firm, Xero, drop by almost ten per cent, before rebounding to a decline of just two per cent.

Accounting software company, Xero, have passed the $100 million revenue mark for the first time, in an announcement made this morning.

Xero chief executive Rod Drury has lost out on claiming the World Entrepreneur of the Year title.

NZ shares rose yesterday, led by Goodman Property Trust, after the property investor said full-year net profit rose 72 per cent. Trade Me and Xero paced the gains while Ryman Healthcare fell ahead of reporting earnings today.

Shares in Xero climbed 11 percent after the accounting software developer said it slowed the pace of cash outflow in the first three months of the year.

New Zealand tech stocks led the local market higher in morning trade, snapping a two-day decline as investors returned to tech and biotech stocks.

Pacific Edge shares slumped to a five-month low and Xero plunged again as as the local stock market joined a global sell-off amid concerns high-growth companies may struggle to convert sales into profits.

Xero chief executive Rod Drury is "extremely confident" the market will return to technology stocks after the company's shares slumped to a four-month low.

Xero boss Rod Drury says the company's $210m of cash means it can ignore mounting concerns over tech stocks and continue to "drive its business".

Xero chief executive Rod Drury says the software maker's booming share price is a problem, but a 'quality problem.

NZ shares were mixed yesterday as investors cast forward to next month's earnings season, and as regional markets mulled this week's Federal Reserve meeting.

NZ shares rose to a two-month high, paced by Chorus, Kathmandu and Sky Network Television as the prospects of strong economic growth drew retail investors to the equity market.

NZ shares rose yesterday, joining a global rally, as demand for so-called growth stocks drove Xero and Wynyard Group to record levels.

An Australian hedge fund manager has raved about the potential for accountancy software company Xero.

With chief executive Rod Drury "bouncing around over the world", accounting software firm Xero is hunting for a New Zealand managing director to handle local operations.

A Facebook billionaire, an investment company tied to a charitable trust working with Australian Aboriginal communities, and TradeMe founder Sam Morgan are among the largest holders of Xero shares which have soared more than 500 per cent in the past year.

It was worth $3 billion just three weeks ago, now online accounting software provider Xero has passed the $4 billion mark.