Ex-Xero Australia and Asia Managing Director brings over 20 years of experience in business scale up expertise to Compono 

Talent optimisation software company Compono has appointed Trent Innes as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) commencing 2nd May.

Innes, who was previously the Managing Director of Xero Australia and Asia, will spearhead Compono’s next stage of growth into new markets and help the rapidly evolving needs of employers as they deal with severe talent shortages and a more remote workforce.

“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Compono and look forward to enhancing the company’s global operations and position as a leader in end to end talent solutions that realise the full potential of people,” said Trent Innes, newly appointed CEO of Compono. “The fundamentals are in place for the business – workforces are becoming increasingly remote and top talent is demanding more of their employers than ever. It’s an environment where disruptors thrive and Compono has built a world-class technology platform that helps businesses hire and engage talent better than anyone else out there. Whilst their class-leading training and certification programs, including the use of virtual reality to deliver immersive learning experiences, can develop people exponentially.”

Founded by Rudy Crous and Carl Hartmann in 2017, Compono now employs 149 staff across its offices in New York, London, New Zealand and Australia with headquarters in Brisbane. Key investors in the business include Andrew Banks, Deepbridge Capital, Maropost Ventures, and Marshall Investments alongside many prominent family offices.

“During my time at Xero, one of the biggest challenges we faced was finding and retaining the right people. As a leader, you quickly learn what is truly important – it’s often not just about the right skills or experience, but about finding people with the right attitude and mindset for your organisation. Ultimately you want people to be set up for success and to thrive in your environment.  A bad hiring decision is not only a poor use of company resources, it’s a poor employee experience as well. By combining human psychology and organisational design, Compono solves this difficult recruitment problem and helps businesses and individuals realise their full potential in the process.” concluded Innes.

Compono co-founder Carl Hartmann said of the appointment, “Trent is a people-focused leader who understands the challenges many businesses are facing when it comes to attracting and retaining their workforce. I look forward to seeing him scale the company and bring our market-leading talent optimisation solutions onto the world stage.

“Trent joins Compono at a time when there has never been a greater pace of change in our industry. His passion and experience leading technology companies with global ambition makes Trent the ideal choice to lead Compono through our next stage of growth.”