Sir Rod Drury has been accused by three women of making unwanted advances towards them. Photo / Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Sir Rod Drury has handed back his New Zealander of the Year title today after a series of allegations from former female employees that he made unwanted advances towards them.
Three women have accused the 2026 New Zealander of the Year of unwanted sexualised behaviour – former Xero employees Ally Naylor and another named Amy, and Drury’s former private chef Megan Ruddle.
Drury has denied the allegations by Naylor and Ruddle, and a representative for Drury didn’t want to comment regarding Amy’s complaint.
In a statement this afternoon, the New Zealander of the Year Awards Office confirmed the founder of tech company Xero had relinquished his award.
“After discussions with Sir Rod Drury, the New Zealander of the Year Awards Office confirms that as the recipient of the 2026 New Zealander of the Year Award he has returned the award.
“The New Zealander of the Year Awards exist to celebrate those whose contributions strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand and reflect the values of leadership, service, integrity and respect for others.
“Any matter that undermines or calls into question those values is not consistent with the standards and expectations we hold for the awards programme.”
The office confirmed the 2026 New Zealander of the Year Award will not be reawarded.
Drury also told the Herald he had informed the New Zealander of the Year Awards Office that he was returning his award.
“While I completely reject the recent allegations about me, I do not want the current situation to undermine the integrity of the awards or place further pressure on a great organisation before the relevant investigations and proper processes have been completed.
“The awards office should not be put in the position of having to deal with matters that do not involve them while those processes are underway.”
Two women have alleged Drury made sexual advances while they were employees at Xero, the company he founded in 2005.
In April, ex-Xero employee Ally Naylor alleged Drury non-consensually kissed and groped her. Drury denied those accusations, claiming “any other relationships I had over that period were consensual and mutual”.
While Naylor said the behaviour began in 2015, it was formally reported to Xero in 2017. This led to an internal investigation, the findings of which have not been publicly released.
Naylor told the Herald she stands by her allegation there was “unwanted and inappropriate sexual contact”.
Xero later opened an external investigation after Naylor’s public complaint, with Maria Dew, KC, leading the review.
Last Friday, a second complainant, referred to as Amy, told Stuff that Drury also made sexual advances when she was an employee at the company.
Amy said Drury invited her to his apartment to discuss a job opportunity, but when she arrived, the meeting quickly turned inappropriate.
Another Xero employee, Tim, told the publication Amy had confided in him about the incident the next morning after he noticed “she looked a bit weepy”.
“Amy is a pretty robust person. She’s not someone prone to exaggeration or undue stress,” he said.
A representative for Drury did not want to comment regarding this complaint.
This week, the former private chef of Drury became the third woman to allege he made unwanted advances, claiming he repeatedly kissed her on the lips while she worked for him.
Megan Ruddle signed a non-disclosure agreement after reaching a confidential settlement over an employment dispute after working for Drury on his luxury boat and then at his Queenstown property, Stuff reported.
Drury has confirmed her employment was terminated and a settlement was reached.
Drury has denied the allegations, saying Ruddle’s claims “are not supported by the facts”.
“At no time was there any form of intimate or physical relationship, nor did I ever try to initiate one,” he told the Herald.
Her confidential settlement followed a personal grievance complaint Ruddle made against Drury and his company Oto60 in 2025, Stuff reported.
“I never wanted to settle and sign an agreement in the first place,” she said.
“I think it’s in the best interests of people knowing what actually happened. I don’t think that [this] should be able to legally be covered up by an agreement.”
In this agreement, Drury and his company do not make any admission of liability, Stuff reported.
Last month, Ruddle also made a police complaint and has been interviewed.
In the latest allegations, Drury’s chef claimed he kissed her on the lips in a meeting shortly after she was hired as a chef on his yacht.
After this, Ruddle alleged Drury kissed her on the lips every time he greeted her.
She worked for him from 2023 until late 2025, moving from his boat to become a residence director and chef at his Queenstown retreat.
Ruddle told Stuff it was “so obvious that I didn’t want” to be kissed on the lips by Drury and “I would try to avoid it... I would never kiss back. I would be tense and rigid”.
She said that because she worked for him, on and off, for more than two years, Drury would have kissed her on the lips “easily over 50 times”. Stuff reported that former colleagues also claimed they witnessed Drury kissing Ruddle on the lips multiple times.
Drury told the Herald that Ruddle’s allegations are not correct.
“At no time was there any form of intimate or physical relationship, nor did I ever try to initiate one,” he said.
The Xero founder said he has contacted police in relation to the new claims as multiple people “with first-hand knowledge of the events have come forward with accounts that materially contradict Megan’s allegations”.
“We have also received information that, in the presence of multiple people, Megan spoke about her motivations for pursuing a claim. These individuals are willing to co-operate with any police investigation.”
A spokesperson for Xero last week said “the current board and leadership are committed to fully understanding and evaluating the events and Xero’s response with expert assistance”.
When asked if Dew’s inquiry would address the second allegations from Amy, the spokesperson said “additional matters” could be considered if they were “relevant”.
“The review will consider Xero’s handling of the 2017 complaint, and the related decision-making processes,” they said.
“The reviewer has the ability to interview any parties she considers relevant, and to consider any additional matters that arise during the course of the review.”
Xero said it would not be appropriate to comment further as the review is ongoing.
Anyone with relevant information can confidentially get in contact through the email review@xero.com.
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