Microsoft vs Xero: Founders, CEOs and History
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella. Xero was founded in 2006 by Rod Drury, Hamish Edwards and is led by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.
Company facts
Founders
Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft was founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, childhood friends from Seattle who had spent their teenage years finding ways to get free time on mainframe computers.
Paul Allen
Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft and was crucial to its earliest technical and strategic decisions. He helped develop Altair BASIC, gave the company its original name, and participated in the operating-system opportunity that led to MS-DOS.
Xero
Rod Drury
Rod Drury is a New Zealand software entrepreneur who co-founded Xero in Wellington in 2006 and served as its chief executive until 2018. Before Xero he built software businesses including AfterMail, which he sold to Quest Software.
Hamish Edwards
Hamish Edwards co-founded Xero in 2006 alongside Rod Drury. Working as an accountant, he was deeply furious at how incredibly terrible, slow, and outdated legacy desktop accounting software was.
CEOs and their tenures
Microsoft
- Bill Gates1975–2000
Co-founder and CEO
Gates built Microsoft's licensing model: software sold to many hardware makers rather than tied to one.
Source - Steve Ballmer2000–2014
CEO
Ballmer grew revenue from about $23 billion in FY2000 to about $78 billion in FY2013 and built the enterprise server and sales business that Azure later scaled on.
Source - Satya Nadella2014–present
Chairman and CEO
Nadella made Azure and Microsoft 365 the company's core, opened Microsoft to Linux and open source, and positioned it early in generative AI through OpenAI.
Source
Xero
- Rod Drury2006–2018
Co-Founder & Former Chief Executive Officer (2006-2018)
As Co-Founder and legendary CEO, he was the absolute visionary who completely revolutionized the deeply boring accounting software industry by making the software beautiful, cloud-native, and highly integrated with banking APIs.
Source - Sukhinder Singh Cassidy2023–present
Chief Executive Officer
Under her leadership revenue grew from ~$812 million (NZ$1.40 billion) in FY23 to ~$1.59 billion (NZ$2.75 billion) in FY26, and Xero moved from a net loss to a net profit.
Source
Timeline: Microsoft and Xero side by side
1975Microsoft
Microsoft Founded
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft after recognizing that the Altair 8800 needed usable programming software. Their first product, Altair BASIC, turned a hobbyist computer kit into a programmable platform.
1981Microsoft
MS-DOS Ships With IBM PC
IBM introduced its personal computer with MS-DOS 1.0 and other Microsoft products. The milestone mattered because Microsoft's operating-system work moved from a small software supplier's project into the emerging corporate PC standard.
1985Microsoft
Windows Launch
The release of Windows 1.0 began Microsoft's long move from command-line operating systems to graphical personal computing. The first version was not an instant blockbuster, but it gave Microsoft a user-interface path that could evolve with PC hardware.
1986Microsoft
Microsoft IPO
Microsoft went public on the Nasdaq in March 1986.
1990Microsoft
Office Suite Release
The bundling of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into Microsoft Office created a productivity suite that became central to business work. The bundle simplified enterprise purchasing and made file compatibility a competitive weapon.
1995Microsoft
Windows 95 Released
Microsoft released Windows 95 in August 1995.
1998Microsoft
U.S. Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of using Windows power to suppress browser competition. The case mattered because it placed Microsoft's platform tactics under public and legal scrutiny at the height of its PC strong position.
2006Xero
Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards found Xero in Wellington, New Zealand.
2007Xero
Xero lists on the NZX.
2010Microsoft
Azure Commercial Launch
Azure gave Microsoft a way to compete in cloud infrastructure as enterprise customers began shifting workloads away from company-owned servers.
2010Xero
Peter Thiel Invests
Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures invested in Xero in 2010.
2012Xero
Xero lists on the ASX.
2014Microsoft
Satya Nadella CEO
Satya Nadella became CEO and moved Microsoft away from a strategy that forced every product to serve Windows. He prioritized Azure, Microsoft 365, open source, Linux support, cross-platform software, and a more collaborative developer posture.
2016Microsoft
LinkedIn Acquisition
Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash. The deal mattered because it added a professional identity network to a company already strong in Office, Dynamics, cloud services, recruiting tools, advertising, and enterprise sales.
2018Microsoft
GitHub Acquisition
Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, reversing years of developer skepticism toward the company. The acquisition placed Microsoft inside the daily workflow of software developers across languages, clouds, and operating systems.
2018Xero
Steve Vamos succeeds Rod Drury as CEO; Xero buys Hubdoc and delists from the NZX.
2020Xero
Waddle Acquired
Xero bought the invoice-lending platform Waddle in 2020.
2021Xero
Acquired Planday A/S
Xero acquired Planday A/S for $184 million.
2023Microsoft
AI Leadership
Microsoft's expanded OpenAI partnership and Copilot product rollout placed the company at the center of enterprise generative AI adoption.
2023Microsoft
Activision Blizzard Acquisition Closes
Microsoft completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition after intense regulatory review. The deal added Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and other franchises to Microsoft Gaming.
2023Xero
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy becomes CEO.
2025Xero
Claire Bramley becomes CFO on 1 April; Xero completes the Melio acquisition on 15 October.
2026Xero
Matan Bar named CEO of Xero US; FY26 revenue reaches ~$1.59 billion (NZ$2.75 billion).
Acquisitions
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- TakeLessons2021Undisclosed
- Clipchamp2021Undisclosed
- GitHub2018$7.5B
Questions about Microsoft vs Xero
Who is the CEO of Microsoft Corporation and Xero?
Microsoft Corporation is led by Satya Nadella and Xero is led by Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Microsoft Corporation founded vs Xero?
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 — 31 years before Xero, which was founded in 2006. Microsoft Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Xero.
How many employees does Microsoft Corporation have compared to Xero?
Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000 people, while Xero employs approximately 4,400. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to Xero's 4,400. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Microsoft Corporation and Xero headquartered?
Microsoft Corporation is headquartered in United States and Xero is headquartered in New Zealand. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Microsoft Corporation and Xero?
Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen. Xero was founded by Rod Drury, Hamish Edwards.
Which company has a longer operating history — Microsoft Corporation or Xero?
Microsoft Corporation has been operating for approximately 51 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Xero has been in operation for around 20 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Microsoft vs Xero overview