Good morning New Zealand!
On this week's podcast episode I speak to Anna Curzon, Chief Product Officer @ Xero and also a member of the APEC Business Advisory Council where she was appointed by Jacinda Arder to help support businesses in New Zealand and around APAC.
We talk about... a lot! Including...
🐣 The origin story of Xero, how it came from the founder having a problem he couldn't solve, and how he started a company to solve it
🔥 How they had to fire themselves as Xero users as they scaled out of their own target market, and how they stay in touch with customers
📖 How she moved from her career in banking into disruptive tech and how she was always "the freak in the phone book"
👩👩👦👦 The parallels between her original passion for anthropology & understanding humans has translated into her day-to-day work
🥰 How she developed a passion for product management & how she approached her move into a CPO job without any direct product management experience
🧐 Whether she had any pushback when taking over a team of product managers, and the approaches she's taken to be seen as just one of the team
🤝 The importance of diversity on the teams and why people should be able to bring their true selves to work
🚀 How they've managed to keep the Xero culture going and nurture it through massive scaling and acquisitions
It was great speaking to Anna and hearing about her journey and her aspirations. Please give it a lesson and let me know what you think, and remember to share with your friends!
Episode link is here:
