Andy Lark appointed chief marketer at software company Xero

Former Commonwealth Bank head of marketing Andy Lark has been appointed as the new global chief marketing officer for software company Xero, it has been announced this morning.

Lark left CommBank unexpectedly last May and has been consulting, including with the New Zealand based accounting software company, and will take up the new role officially in November, but remain based in Sydney.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange this morning Xero CEO Rod Dury said: “As we continue to accelerate our growth globally, adding executives of Andy’s calibre demonstrates our ability to attract world-class talent and commitment to bringing Xero to more small businesses than any other platform.

“Andy has been involved with Xero since the beginning as a sounding board — and now as part of our leadership team he will be able to play a direct role in driving our momentum, brand and product through our next phase of growth.”

On his blog today Lark wrote: “I’ll work closely with the Xero teams here, New Zealand, the US and UK. I’ve had plenty of opportunities come my way but few that combine the growth, global scale and maturity of business to allow me to have a real impact.