Xero Limited

Yeah, thanks, operator. Well, good morning, and thank you for joining Xero's investors briefing today. I'm David Thode, Xero's chair. I don't get to come to many of these meetings, so I'm delighted to be here in Sydney with the whole Xero team. In a moment, I'm going to hand over to Steve and Kirsty for an update on Xero's first half year results for 23. But before I do that, I want to comment on the announcement we made today that the board has appointed Sikinder Singh-Cassidy as our new CEO from the 1st of February, 2023. And we're very excited about this appointment. Sikinder will succeed Steve, who after serving close to five years as CEO, has decided to retire from this role and he plans to return to his previous portfolio in business coaching and leadership development as an advisor, director and investor which I'm sure he will continue to do incredibly well. So on behalf of the board, I really am delighted to appoint someone of Sikinder's caliber as CEO to really lead Xero through this next phase of growth. And I really stress that because the board has looked at what we think are the requirements for this company as we scale it globally. It has been a rigorous global recruitment process where we considered a number of really exceptional candidates. But Secinda has this broad experience across different organizations, role types, geographies within the tech sector, and in particular, building product and scaling go-to-market businesses. And we think this is just a unique set of capabilities that will really be beneficial to the company as we go forward. Secinda is a purpose-driven and human-centered leader who is passionate about supporting our customers, which is so important to us and is committed to growing and nurturing Xero's unique and very vibrant culture. So just a little bit on the timing. Secinda will start at Xero on the 28th of November. And she's going to work closely with Steve to manage the CEO transition. And Steve is going to remain available to advise her and the board through to the end of May. I'm glad to say we have Secinda here with us today. And she's going to say a few brief words before we hand over to Steve and Kirsty for the first half results. But just before I do that, I really do want to acknowledge Steve's enormous contribution to Xero's growth over the last four to five years. In fact, it's seven years that he's been involved with the company, and he really has taken the company to really be on the global stage. And he's overseen significant expansion in many different respects. And of course, he is a highly respected leader, both within the organization, but across Australia and New Zealand, and on the global stage. So at the end of the results presentation, I'll be really happy to take any questions about Secinda's appointment. But let's leave plenty of time for Steve and Kirsty to ask the questions on our results. Secinda won't be taking any questions today, but is looking forward to meeting with you all and engaging with you in the near future. So with that, let me just pass over to Secinda to make a few comments.

Thanks, David. I'm thrilled to be appointed as CEO and appreciate the Xero board's confidence in me. What excites me about Xero is the people, the culture of the company, the passion Xero's partners and customers clearly have for our product, as well as, of course, is the large total market opportunity globally. I believe Xero is a critical business tool for small businesses and their advisors. There are huge opportunities in front of us, and I'm committed to building on the business's great momentum already in line with Xero's values. I'm looking forward to getting to know Xero's people, partners, customers, and shareholders, of course, around the world and leading the business through this next exciting stage of growth. I'll hand now back to David.

Well, thanks, Sakinda. And let me just again say it's really great to have you on the team. So let me now pass over to Steve and then Kirstie for the results. Over to you, Steve. Thank you, David.