CEO Archives

Book review: Australian author Pip Finkemeyer’s satire, One Story, skewers the narcissism and mythmaking of tech leaders

Caitlin Macdonald - November 17, 2025 6 MIN READ

When I began reading Elaine Castillo’s Moderation, a new American novel about the psychological damage of online moderation, I had to pause. I’d read novels that confronted difficult material before, but this one blurred the line between bearing witness and re-enacting pain. The book follows Girlie, a content moderator for a social media giant whose… Read more »

People

Uniseed boss Peter Devine calls time on 20 years leading Australia’s OG VC

Simon Thomsen - October 29, 2025 2 MIN READ

Uniseed CEO Dr Peter Devine as called time on two decades leading the university-backed research commercialisation fund, staging his own exit at the end of 2025. Taking the helm in January 2026 is Dr Alistair Hick from Monash University, where he’s been its inaugural chief commercialisation officer, with responsibility for overseeing its IP commercialisation program,… Read more »

Business

Buildkite finally has a new CEO

Simon Thomsen - August 5, 2025 2 MIN READ

Software development scaleup Buildkite has found a new CEO to replace cofounder Keith Pitt, who left the business suddenly five months ago, handing the reins to veteran Silicon Valley exec Kevin Gounden. The 12-year-old US-Australian business, allows developers to build, test, and deploy software at scale, has been rebuilding its C-suite over the last 18… Read more »

Cryptocurrency

BTC Markets boss Caroline Bowler heads for the exit after 5 years

Simon Thomsen - May 28, 2025 2 MIN READ

Cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets is on the hunt for a new CEO after Caroline Bowler she’ll step down in early August after five years in the role. The 12-year-old digital asset exchange, which is used by more than 362,000 Australians who’ve traded in excess of $28.2 billion, has engaged Tier One People’s Dexter Cousins to… Read more »

Xero Rod Drury, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, David Thodey

Fintech

Xero’s boss needs 60,000 subscribers like me just to cover the cost of her latest pay deal wish I could put a mind blown emoji in this headline

Simon Thomsen - April 10, 2025 3 MIN READ

Just before Christmas, as staff put on Hawaiian shirts and went to Christmas lunches HR hoped didn’t create more work for them, New Zealand ASX-listed accounting platform Xero (ASX: XRO) dropped details on a new pay plan for CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. The December 18 release, titled “Xero CEO pay revised, aligns to performance and… Read more »

People

Stake cofounder Matt Leibowitz resigns as CEO

Startup Daily - January 12, 2024 2 MIN READ

The cofounder of Stake, Matt Leibowitz, has resigned as CEO, having led the digital broker since its launch in 2017. He will move to executive director and continue to work on the platform’s product and business strategy. Leibowitz will be replaced by the company’s new chief commercial officer, Jon Howie, who joined the business in… Read more »

People

Chris Vein, CEO of ACS, is stepping down

Simon Thomsen - December 5, 2023 2 MIN READ

Chris Vein, the self-confessed American “Australophile” and former White House, and World Bank executive who became CEO of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) following its most turbulent period, is stepping down after 18 months in the role. ACS announced it “regrets” that Vein will retire at the end of the year for personal/health reasons. “As… Read more »

Leadership

Brighte founder Katherine McConnell on how to CEO

Michael Batko - March 8, 2023 3 MIN READ

Startmate CEO Michael Batko spend six months talking to 15 startup founders about leadership in order to learn how to be better in his job. “It was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my own professional development and I hated the idea of keeping all the insights to myself,” he said. “They… Read more »

Business strategy

Startmate boss Michael Batko asked 15 leading startup founders ‘how do you CEO?’ – here’s what he learnt

Michael Batko - January 31, 2023 14 MIN READ

Startmate CEO Michael Batko spent nine months talking to 15 Australian startup founders, from unicorns such as Mr Yum and Culture Amp, to Brighte, Forage, 5B and Mintable. He published those interviews on his substack (see below for the links). Batko then took all he learnt and summarised their insights into “how to CEO” below.… Read more »

Opinion

Can a CEO or founder ever really take a break from work?

Kochies Business Builders - November 10, 2022 3 MIN READ

Ben Lipschitz, CEO and co-founder of FoodByUs, reflects on the benefits for his business when he finally allowed himself to take a proper break from work after six years without a real holiday. As the leader of a fast paced and high-growth tech startup, you accept it’s a role that requires plenty of your focus… Read more »

People

Tech investor Chris Ridd gets back in the C-suite saddle as EventsAir CEO

Simon Thomsen - September 29, 2022 2 MIN READ

Former Xero CEO, company director and tech investor Chris Ridd has returned to the startup coalface as the chief exec of Brisbane venture EventsAir. Ridd, who’s been chairing the company’s board since early 2022, announced via LinkedIn that he’s excited to be back on the C-suite. “As I reflect back on my 30 year career,… Read more »

Advice

How to deal with imposter syndrome when you’re the founding CEO of a startup

Phil Morle - April 20, 2022 2 MIN READ

OMG, the pressure of being the founding CEO of a startup. Most people come into the role with limited experience and start the daily process of building something from nothing. The job is to learn what to do faster than the wheels can fall off. Every startup CEO feels like this. A quiet voice tells… Read more »

ASX

E-commerce boss Ruslan Kogan is one of Australia’s most expensive CEOs

Simon Thomsen - November 26, 2021 2 MIN READ

Ruslan Kogan, founder and CEO of the ASX-listed online retailer bearing his name, is paid more than the chief executives of retail giants Woolworths, Coles and Wesfarmers, taking home a whopping $9 million pay packet last year. But it seems many of the company’s shareholders question that cost, with the company’s remuneration report copping a… Read more »

People

DigitalX boss Leigh Travers is leaving the ASX-listed blockchain company to become CEO of Binance Australia

Simon Thomsen - August 30, 2021 2 MIN READ

Digital currency exchange Binance Australia has appointed Leigh Travers, the former CEO of ASX-listed blockchain company DigitalX, as its new Executive Officer. Travers spent seven years at DigitalX. He previously created a tech and investment professionals startup hub in WA and has served on the board blockchain industry body, Blockchain Australia. Travers has provided technical,… Read more »

People

Former Hotelscombined.com boss Hichame Assi is replacing Collis Ta’eed as Envato CEO

Simon Thomsen - October 20, 2020 < 1 MIN READ

Digital travel industry veteran Hichame Assi has been chosen to replace Envato founder Collis Ta’eed as CEO of the Melbourne-based tech marketplace. The choice of the former HotelsCombined.com boss, who has a Masters in eCommerce from the University of London, follows a year-long global search. Ta’eed announced in August that he would step down… Read more »