Andy Lark

Renowned Australian Technology Futurist, Specialist in AI, Entrepreneur & Global Marketer

Profile

Andy Lark is a globally awarded leader and entrepreneur. He has built one of the most successful SaaS start-ups into a global software powerhouse; launched apps used by millions every day; lead the transformation of Australia’s most vibrant financial services brand; and, built one of the largest eCommerce sites in the world.

During his tenure as chief marketing and revenue officer of Xero – the cloud accounting software leader and one of the world’s fastest-growing software as a service (SAAS) companies, Xero was named the world’s most innovative growth company by Forbes. Andy has held senior executive roles at Dell, Sun Microsystems, Nortel, Commonwealth Bank, and Foxtel.

Today Andy chairs Group Lark – a global consultancy driving brand and digital transformations for the world’s leading countries and enterprises. Group Lark helps great ideas and entrepreneurs flourish in a digital world – and great brands design their future there. His work as an investor, advisor and entrepreneur lead him to raise hundreds of millions resulting in multiple public listings. Group Lark works with founders and their high-growth brands to achieve scale through effective sales and marketing strategies. These include Jiko, Soul Machines, Ansarada, WhiteSky Labs and Westpac.

Andy is regularly rated in the Top 100 CMOs and digital leaders globally; writes one of the leading marketing blogs – The Daily Lark; and recently co-authored NYTimes and Amazon best-seller, Augmented.

For the past two decades, Andy Lark has worked alongside CEOs and their leadership teams to drive growth and change with the aim of attaining digital and brand greatness for their institutions. These include Air New Zealand, Brocade, Commonwealth Bank, Coles, Dell, Emirates Team New Zealand, IBM, Simplot, Southwest Airlines, Sun, The New Zealand Government, Visa, and Xero. He has co-founded and built multiple businesses to >100m valuations.

He is a non-executive director of Mighty River Power. He has held directorships with SLI Systems, Fronde and Number 8 Ventures – New Zealand’s leading technology venture capital firm.

A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree from Auckland University and attended Dilworth School in Auckland. He is a passionate supporter of NZ and Australian entrepreneurs where his work was recognised with the NZ Government’s prestigious World Class New Zealander Award – and most recently, the Flying Kiwi Award on behalf of the NZ Hi-tech sector.

When he is not immersed in work, he is a competitive sailor, a very non-competitive cyclist, and writer.

Expertise

Talking Points
Marketing Myths & Mayhem
Change or Die: The AI Transformation Imperative
Creating Your Leadership Playbook
Solving the SaaS Services Equation
Recession-proofing growth through CX & Marketing
Learning from losers: Creating resilient businesses and people by thriving on failure.
Myths & mayhem: What marketers must do next