Software-as-a-Service fintech PaySauce has recruited tech executive Chris Ridd as executive director of its fledgling Australian operation.
Ridd is a former managing director for Xero Australia, and led the company’s expansion in the Australian market from a small startup to become the country’s largest online cloud accounting software company.
He is currently an operating partner with Macquarie Asset Management, providing strategic guidance and expertise to enhance the performance of their key digital portfolio companies, and will continue in that role.
He will initially focus on PaySauce becoming the leading payroll provider for dairy farms in Australia, with a long-term goal to target over 700,000 Australian micro-businesses.
Ridd has 30 years’ experience in the IT industry, including five years at Xero Australia and 15 years at Microsoft in various senior executive roles. In 2015, he was awarded The CEO Magazine’s Financial Services Executive of the Year, and was runner-up in Managing Director of the Year.
He has also served as a non-executive director, advisor, investor and executive in various fast-growth Australian companies, including EventsAir, Board Pro, Compass Education, and MyProsperity, among others.
PaySauce CEO and co-founder Asantha Wijeyeratne said Ridd would bring to the company a passion for helping fast-growing companies to achieve their potential. He would also bring “a record of success — and a deep understanding of what is required — to take a New Zealand company from a startup to being a trans-Tasman leader”.
Ridd said he believed there was a “real opportunity” in Australia, as its micro-businesses were underserved by existing payroll providers. “Success in Australia will not only mean supporting these businesses but also accelerating PaySauce’s next phase of growth, and I am looking forward to helping the company realise that potential.”
The appointment is effective immediately. Ridd has agreed to be remunerated in PaySauce equity via an issue of restricted share units, which vest over two years.
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