Xero’s Steve Vamos Leads Staff Through Pandemic

Head of Wellington-based accountancy software group Xero, Steve Vamos, 62, strives to create an environment where staff do ‘great work’. The tech veteran recently spoke to Financial Times correspondent Jonathan Moules over a video call about doing business during a pandemic.

Covid-19 is forcing businesses to think and work differently, which means being more attentive to staff needs, in particular their mental health, Vamos says. “As a leader you have to stay calm … You must also make sure your people feel safe, make sure they feel connected to you – so I try to provide a lot of communication – and make sure that they feel you are there.”

The pandemic has been a mixed blessing for Xero, which was founded in 2006 and reported its first full-year net profit after tax in the year to 31 March on the back of a 30 per cent increase in revenues to $718m and a 26 per cent growth in subscribers to almost 2.3m accounts, boosted by people looking for online financial services during lockdown.

It added 6139 subscribers during the second quarter of the calendar year 2020 after the pandemic took hold, 3.6 per cent more than the same period in 2019 and the largest second quarter year-on-year increase for the business since 2012.

Original article by Jonathan Moules, Financial Times, October 25, 2020.

Photo by Russell Kleyn.