Hotels platform SiteMinder signs up former Xero boss Trent Innes as chief growth officer

Hotels tech venture, SiteMinder, has appointed former Xero managing director, Trent Innes, as Chief Growth Officer (CGO) and ex Apple executive, Tim Howard, as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). 

SiteMinder is an open hotel commerce platform, enabling hotels and lodging operators to market, sell, manage and expand their operations. The tech venture provides a complete set of tools and solutions to manage the distribution of their rooms through multiple direct and indirect channels, handle guest bookings, and communicate with guests.

Innes brings extensive expertise to his new position, having spent eight years as a top executive at Xero. He has more than 20 years experience growing large businesses across the tech industry.

SiteMinder has also appointed former Apple executive, Tim Howard, to its leadership team as the CFO. Howard has over 20 years of experience in tech companies and a background in private equity. 

SiteMinder (ASX: SDR) listed on the ASX in November 2o21 $5.06 a share, after raising $100 million in a pre-IPO round backed by AustralianSuper and BlackRock in September of that year.

Like many tech stocks, its share price fell in 2022, having dropped by around a third over the past 12 months. SiteMinder shares rallied to start 2023, up more than 35%, and in morning trade on Monday, sit at around $4.09.

CEO Sankar Narayan said he is thrilled to welcome Innes to the SiteMinder’s C-suite.

“Having had the privilege of witnessing Trent’s leadership at Xero, I have seen first-hand his hyper-focus on customers and ability to scale a global business with cloud-based technology to one million subscribers,” he said. 

“I am thrilled to welcome Trent to SiteMinder’s leadership team as we continue to forge an accelerated growth path during a continuing reopening of travel in 2023

Innes said he is excited to drive the expansion of SiteMinder.

“Having watched SiteMinder’s growth over many years, I am thrilled to be joining such an innovative company making big moves globally, with market-leading technology that truly equips and empowers hoteliers to be the best commercial leaders they can be,” he said.

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