Founder Profile
Rod Drury
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Rod Drury?
Rod Drury is a founder of Xero, which was founded in 2006 with Hamish Edwards.
- Company founded
- Xero
- Founded
- 2006
- Co-founders
- Hamish Edwards
Background
Serial software founder with a background in enterprise software and email archiving before Xero.
Founding Story
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. As CEO he took Xero public on the NZX in 2007, added an ASX listing in 2012 and led its expansion into Australia, the UK and the US.
Rod Drury was born in 1966. Education: Napier Boys' High School; Victoria University of Wellington.
Sir Rodney Kenneth Drury was born in 1966. He made his first fortune with Glazier Systems, a New Zealand software consultancy sold in 1999, and later founded the email technology company Aftermail.