Bay-based Drury goes from Xero to hero

CLARITY: Rod Drury, based in Havelock North, has had a big week. PHOTO/GLENN TAYLOR HBT132646-08

This week is one Havelock North-based businessman Rod Drury will remember.

His online accounting software firm Xero became a $3 billion company and he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Mr Drury said the award was a "brilliant" endorsement for his company and he would represent New Zealand at the EY World Entrepreneur of The Year Awards in Monte Carlo in June next year, joining national winners from 55 countries.

Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce President Brent Linn said Mr Drury was "inspirational".

"His optimism and track record are a real positive example for Hawke's Bay businesses," he said.

"We are very lucky he is so generous with his time and expertise."

Wellington Employers' Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Raewyn Bleakley said Mr Drury's story of perseverance "is one we can all learn from".

"For someone who is running a multibillion-dollar company and 600 staff spread over four countries he has been very generous with his time in passing on his experiences, ideas, and advice to both the Chamber and to Business Central members, most recently in Whanganui and Hawke's Bay."

A serial entrepreneur, Mr Drury co-founded software firm Glazier Systems in 1995 and sold it four years later for $7.5 million. Next was Aftermail, an email-archiving provider bought by California-based Quest Software for US$45 million in 2006.

He launched Xero in June 2006 and it was floated on the New Zea-