The Next Phase: Building Global Technology Businesses from NZ

1:40pm 16 September 2010

Rod Drury
Rod Drury HFNZCS

Founder, Xero

The technology world is evolving at an ever increasing pace.  Technology allows brains to compete with capital.  Rod will cover how the technology industry has evolved,  what technology trends are most relevant to us in New Zealand, and discuss how we can now build successful global technology business from here in New Zealand.

About Rod Drury

Rod Drury is the founder of online Software-as-a-Service Accounting firm Xero and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of NZCS (HFNZCS) in 2008 for services to the ICT profession.

In 1995 Rod established Glazier Systems, one of New Zealand’s leading software development and consulting companies. Glazier Systems was acquired by Advantage Group in 1999 and continues today as Intergen.

Rod subsequently founded and served as CEO of AfterMail which was acquired by Quest Software for US$65 million in January 2006 and subsequently won Best Exchange Product at Microsoft TechEd 2006 in Boston.

In 2000, Rod co-founded Context Connect, a US-based company developing technology to increase connectivity across different mobile networks. He continues as CTO for the Boston-based company which now has a US patent for its mobile directory application.