Rowan Simpson

Rowan Simpson is an experienced software developer, business person and investor who is passionate about creating great products which people love to use.

In 1999 Rowan built and launched flathunt.co.nz which was later acquired by Trade Me and is now part of Trade Me Property. Rowan worked at Trade Me from 2000, and saw the site grow from 10,000 members to over 100,000 members in just over 18 months.

After spending time living in London and travelling in Europe, Rowan returned to Trade Me in 2004 to lead the growing software development team and, later, the product team.

After leaving Trade Me, Rowan became Head of Product Strategy at Xero, an online accounting solution for small businesses and  joined the advisory board of PlanHQ. He is involved in several other start-up businesses either as an advisor or investor.

Prior to all of this, Rowan completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Victoria University of Wellington and then worked as an IT consultant for Accenture.

Rowan proudly lives in Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and two sons.