Rod Drury

Early life

Drury is the son of a tradesman and an executive assistant and grew up in Hawke's Bay. He is reported to have Māori heritage, with his father tracing a lineage to Ngāi Tahu.

Drury attended Napier Boys' High School, which is where he says he developed an interest in computer programming, before going on to study commerce and administration at Victoria University of Wellington. After university, he worked at the accounting firm Arthur Young, which became Ernst & Young in 1989.

In his early 20s, Drury stuttered so badly that he struggled to speak on the phone. However, he was able to overcome it using a smooth speech course at about age 27. He says that overcoming his stutter was crucial to starting the Xero business.

Career

In 1995, Drury established Glazier Systems, a New Zealand software development and consulting company. Glazier Systems was acquired by Advantage Group in 1999 for approximately $7.5 million, which later became Intergen. Drury subsequently co-founded Context Connect and then founded and served as CEO of AfterMail which was acquired by Quest Software (subsequently acquired by Francisco Partners and Elliott Management Corporation).

In July 2006 Drury founded Xero, a publicly listed software as a service accounting-software company, and served as its CEO.

In October 2007, Drury was a judge for the New Zealand Open Source Awards.

Drury co-founded Pacific Fibre, a company which attempted to build an internet cable between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The cable would have cost around $400 million but the venture was ultimately unsuccessful.

In November 2017, he sold $95 million worth of shares in Xero, leaving him with a 13 per cent holding in the company. He stated the sale would support his "future plans to pursue a range of philanthropic and social endeavours." He stepped down as CEO of Xero in March 2018, continuing on with the company as a non-executive director.

Honours and awards

Drury was awarded the Hi-Tech New Zealand "Entrepreneur of the Year" award in 2006 and 2007.

In August 2008 Drury was conferred the title of Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Computer Society (HFNZCS) during the 2008 NZ Computerworld Excellence Awards. He is only the 21st person to be awarded the title in the Society's 48-year history.

In 2012, Drury was named NZ Herald Business Leader of the Year, and the following year he was named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

In 2025, Drury was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame, in recognition of his contributions to technology.

In the 2026 New Year Honours, Drury was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to business, the technology industry and philanthropy.

Personal life

Drury has three children from his first marriage. He lives in Havelock North, Hawke's Bay region.

In 2020, Drury donated $1,000,000 to the iwi charity Mana Tahuna to clean up Queenstown's Lake Hayes.

In 2022, Drury donated $100,000 to ACT.

In 2025 Drury was ranked 22nd on the NBR Rich List, with an estimated net worth of $500 million NZD.

References

References

1. Rose, Sally. (21 September 2014). "No guts, no glory for Xero boss". [[Stuff (website).
2. "From tech hero to Xero".
3. (25 December 2011). "Leading questions: Rod Drury". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
4. Pullar-Strecker, Tom. (17 November 2017). "Rod Drury: from surf and software to shares and social endeavours".
5. (13 October 2014). "Stutterers' beacon of hope".
6. "Rod Drury {{!}} Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (START)".
7. Cooney, Matt. (13 December 2006). "Rod Drury: Repeat offender". idealog.
8. Miller, Ron. "Confirmed: Dell sells software division to Francisco Partners and Elliott Management". [[TechCrunch]].
9. Moore, Martin. (17 October 2013). "Xero founder Rod Drury takes entrepreneur prize". Fairfax.
10. (17 October 2007). "New Zealand Open Source Awards".
11. McBeth, Paul. (8 January 2011). "Pacific Fibre adds Facebook and Paypal". [[Stuff (website).
12. Fletcher, Hamish. (3 August 2012). "Politics helped kill cable". NZME.
13. Pullar-Strecker, Tom. (5 March 2018). "Rod Drury stands down as CEO of Xero, replaced by Aussie".
14. (3 November 2007). "Hi-Tech Awards site".
15. "Honorary Fellows of the IITP (HFIITP)". Institute of IT Professionals of New Zealand.
16. (15 December 2012). "Business leader of the year: Rod Drury". [[New Zealand Herald]].
17. Anthony Hubbard. (10 January 2014). "Market whizz-kid enjoys Kiwi lifestyle". The Dominion Post.
18. "Rod Drury".
19. (31 December 2025). "New Year 2026 Honours: The full list of knights, dames, honourees". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
20. "Local lifestyle, global dominion for Bay's hi-tech ambassador".
21. "Lake Hayes' $1m kickstarter".
22. "David Seymour defends Xero founder Rod Drury after National Māori Authority chair Matthew Tukaki calls for product boycott over ACT donation".
23. "Revealed: Bay Rich List".