Serko's Darrin Grafton joins Conversant Advisory Board

Tuesday, 7 October 2014, 1:53 pm
Press Release: Conversant

MEDIA RELEASE

Serko's Darrin Grafton joins Conversant Advisory Board

Darrin Grafton, co- founder and CEO of NZX-listed Serko, one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing technology companies, has joined the Conversant Advisory Board.

As a leading developer and provider of cloud communications in New Zealand and Australia, Conversant has its sights firmly set on growth in both markets.

Having Grafton on the Conversant Advisory Board will make a significant contribution to the company achieving these ambitions, says Conversant managing director Cameron Beattie.

“We are thrilled to have Darrin on board. Darrin is an entrepreneur who has taken Serko from being a local start-up to a publicly-listed company with customers internationally,” says Beattie

“With his hands-on experience and knowledge of how to grow a company and raise capital, Darrin will help shape Conversant’s future.”

Grafton says he is excited to be involved in guiding Conversant’s growth strategy.

“I’m passionate about giving back to the New Zealand hi-tech sector and seeing New Zealand companies such as Conversant grow globally. I’m looking forward to sharing my learnings with their team,” says Grafton.

“Conversant has already set up a very good advisory board and I’m excited to be part of this.”

Grafton joins Andy Scott and Derek Wilson on the board.

Andy Scott co-founded Communications Venture Partners, which manages stakes in 2degrees in New Zealand, Trilogy Partners in USA and Eircom in Ireland. He is currently a director of several companies, including 2degrees.

Derek Wilson is the New Zealand Country Manager for Red Hat. He has held senior sales, sales management and business development roles for local and global organisations such as IBM, Dimension Data, Loudcloud, Computerland and Appserv.

Grafton’s skills and background are the ideal complement to those of Scott and Wilson, says Beattie.

“Andy understands funding and investments, and Derek is an expert in sales and business development. Darrin is very experienced in technology commercialisation, so brings a whole other perspective to the team,” says Beattie.

Grafton has 25 years' experience in the travel technology industry and co-founded Serko in 1994. Serko provides online travel booking and expense management services for businesses worldwide. It listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in June 2014.

About Conversant
Conversant is a leading developer and provider of cloud communications in New Zealand and Australia. Conversant enables businesses of any size to enjoy the benefits of an advanced communications service without having to buy, manage or maintain complex systems. Visit www.conversant.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media