Scaling software product businesses without losing the magic

As software development teams grow, the needs of the teams change, and new kinds of leadership are required. The challenge is to ensure engineering processes are sufficiently tight and predictable, without losing essential creativity and the ability to innovate.

Come and hear Gareth’s story as he shares lessons learned from working in some of New Zealand’s most successful software product businesses when:

• Long-time customers voice frustration that the products they use have stopped improving.
• Sales teams complain that nothing new is being delivered or that the product doesn’t meet the needs of their markets.
• Engineering teams churn as developers complain of working in a “feature factory” and not being able to understand what the vision and strategy is.
• The “re-platforming” project drags from months into years and technology proof-of-concepts never make it into the product.

Gareth Cronin is General Manager of Partner Product Projects at Xero, helping to rewire the global business economy by bringing beautiful accounting software to small and medium businesses.

Prior to joining Xero, Gareth consulted for Air New Zealand and Vista Entertainment, led engineering at crime analytics software business Wynyard Group, and at health software creator Orion Health, where he spent four years growing the engineering group from 150 to 350 people, creating new development shops in Christchurch, Bangkok, Canberra, and Phoenix, and producing products that support the transformation of healthcare for the better.

He is also a co-founder of Ambit AI, a software start up creating conversational user experiences using natural language processing. He serves on the board of the IT Professionals New Zealand’s (ITP) national tertiary degree accreditation programme under the Seoul Accord, the Auckland Branch Committee of ITP and the IT industry advisory panel for Manukau Institute of Technology.

Great networking and dinner too
The NZSA is a great opportunity to help advance your business through meeting and networking with Auckland’s software community leaders. Plus, each event includes wine tasting and a two-course meal.

Gareth Cronin’s LinkedIn Profile

Bring a Friend

Don’t forget our NZSA referral promotion: when you refer a friend or colleague to an event, you receive a free drink, and they receive a complimentary bottle of wine if they decide to join NZSA! The guest must fill in your name as the referrer when registering for a standard ticket and must not have attended a NZSA event in the past 12 months.

Networking: 5.30 – 6:00pm
Wine tasting & Dinner: from 6.15 pm
Presenter: 7.00 pm
Dessert and Networking: 7.30 pm
*These timings are a guideline and are subject to change

Note: Bookings are essential as we need to have adequate seating and catering. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know when you order your ticket.

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