About us
Inspired by the
power of being
face to face
Serko has been at the forefront of corporate travel and expense management innovation since 2007. Find out what drives us, meet the team and learn our story.
Something incredible happens when people come together. That’s why we travel. But all too often, we run into distractions. Schedule changes, expense reports, a bad night’s sleep. And a million other things.
We believe there's a better way. We're constantly innovating to remove friction from travel, designing our platform to transform the mundane into an experience. So when you are together, there’s more room for magic to happen.
Our strategy
Our strategy gives our stakeholders — employees, customers, end users, partners, suppliers, shareholders and others — a clear sense of what drives us, where we are heading and how we will create long-term value.
Our purpose
We bring people together
Our vision
+ mission
To create a connected, frictionless travel experience by building the world’s leading business travel marketplace.
Our guiding principles
We show up as our true selves. We embrace the diversity of people, thought and culture. We work intentionally to create a positive impact.
We celebrate success as a collaborative journey. We work together as one team to transform individual ideas and strengths intoinnovative solutions for Serko and our customers.
We challenge ourselves to create simplicity where complexity exists.
We challenge the status quo to make the impossible, possible — forourselves, our customers and our partners.
Others think we’ve got something special too
Working towards a sustainable future
We believe that strong environmental, social and governance practices give Serko its social licence to operate, as well as creating long-term value for our business. While we’re minimising our environmental footprint, we know that some of the greatest impact we can have is helping businesses travel more sustainably by using technology.
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Serko's leadership team
Board of directors
Independent non-executive director (since April 2014)
Chair (since September 2020)
Claudia is an experienced company director and technology leader. She spent 20 years in the US at the intersection of technology, digital, and consumer behaviour including building and scaling two high-profile digital businesses with successful exits to Microsoft and Havas SA. Claudia is a director of Air New Zealand and Vista Group International and Deputy Chair of Michael Hill International. She has an LLB (Hons) and a BCA from Victoria University of Wellington.
Independent non-executive director (since August 2021)
Chair of Audit, Risk and Sustainability Committee (since August 2021)
Jan brings extensive financial rigour and oversight to the Serko Board, and a wealth of governance and risk experience. Jan is Chair of Port of Auckland and ACC, and an independent director of Mitre 10 New Zealand. She was previously Chair of Westpac New Zealand, Deputy Chair for Air New Zealand, a director of Beca, AIG NZ and Meridian Energy, and a member of the University of Auckland Council. She was a partner of KPMG for 30 years and the Chair and Chief Executive of KPMG New Zealand from 2006 until 2011. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland and is a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and a fellow of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand. In 2024 she was named Chairperson of the Year at the Deloitte Top 200 Awards.
Independent non-executive director (since February 2024)
Chair of People, Remuneration and Culture Committee (since June 2025)
Sean has direct operating experience building technology businesses, including in data and AI, and in the US market. He has established and grown two ground-breaking Silicon Valley technology companies: as CEO of Primer, an AI and machine-learning company from 2015 to 2023, and as CTO at Quid, an AI-powered visualisation company. In his early career, he was a NASA research scientist and research fellow at the University of Oxford. He was on the board of Anadarko Petroleum, a Fortune 500 energy company, from 2015 until its acquisition in 2019. Sean has a Master of Science in physics from the University of Canterbury (NZ) and a PhD in physics from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
Executive director and co-founder (since 2007)
Darrin is the Chief Executive Officer of Serko, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in travel technology. A recognised industry innovator, he was named one of the top 25 most influential executives in the travel industry by the BTN Group in 2024, for the second time. Darrin was awarded the INFINZ Leadership Award in 2021 and has previously received the NZX Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Award. He is a member of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ and the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.
Executive director and co-founder (since April 2007)
Bob is a technology entrepreneur who has spent more than three decades shaping the global corporate travel industry, collaborating with leading airlines, travel agencies and global distribution systems in senior executive and board roles. His work has earned multiple accolades including New Zealand Hi-Tech Company of the Year and B2B Travel Innovation of the Year honours and he is a past EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. Bob is recognised for his contribution to Māori tech as a Ngā Tohu Matihiko 'Living Icon' role finalist.
Executive team
Executive director and co-founder (since 2007)
Darrin is the Chief Executive Officer of Serko, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in travel technology. A recognised industry innovator, he was named one of the top 25 most influential executives in the travel industry by the BTN Group in 2024, for the second time. Darrin was awarded the INFINZ Leadership Award in 2021 and has previously received the NZX Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Award. He is a member of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ and the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.
Matthew brings substantial global travel technology experience to Serko. As Chief Operating Officer, he is responsible for day-to-day operational performance across Serko. He joined Serko in 2025 following a decade at Booking Holdings and its subsidiary Booking.com. During this time he led major strategic initiatives for Booking Holdings and led customer insights at Booking.com, overseeing the data science, experimentation, research and customer metrics divisions.
Liz brings extensive commercial and customer leadership experience in New Zealand and internationally. Prior to joining Serko in 2024, she held senior roles at Air New Zealand including Regional General Manager of the Americas, based in Los Angeles, and General Manager Customer. Prior to Air New Zealand, Liz worked in the media industry at TVNZ, MSN and MediaWorks. She is Chair of Crescendo, a social enterprise empowering youth to reach their potential through creativity.
David has more than twenty years of corporate travel experience and has held leadership roles at some of the world’s most recognised travel brands. He joined Serko in 2024 from Airbnb where he spent seven years across senior roles including head of commercial strategy, head of worldwide sales and general manager of Airbnb for Work. He began his career with American Airlines in sales and marketing roles before co-founding and leading US-based Travel Leaders.
Executive director and co-founder (since April 2007)
Bob is a technology entrepreneur who has spent more than three decades shaping the global corporate travel industry, collaborating with leading airlines, travel agencies and global distribution systems in senior executive and board roles. His work has earned multiple accolades including New Zealand Hi-Tech Company of the Year and B2B Travel Innovation of the Year honours and he is a past EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. Bob is recognised for his contribution to Māori tech as a Ngā Tohu Matihiko 'Living Icon' role finalist.
Shane has more than 30 years’ experience in finance and commercial leadership across the energy, telecommunications and technology sectors. He has held senior roles at Vector, Spark and Pulse Energy, and served as Chief Financial Officer of PushPay prior to joining Serko in 2021. Shane has broad expertise across capital markets, financial strategy and commercial performance, and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
Rachael has more than 20 years of global travel technology experience across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, including more than 16 years with Expedia Group. During her time with Expedia Group, she held a range of senior leadership roles across multiple geographies. She has particular expertise in organisational transformation and unlocking individual, team and organisational potential. Rachael joined Serko in 2021.
Simon has more than 20 years’ experience in local and global technology companies, with a track record of building high-performing engineering teams and delivering product excellence. He has held a number of executive leadership roles, including Chief Product and Technology Officer at Trade Me and VP of Engineering at Halter. Simon joined Serko as Vice President of Engineering in 2023 and was appointed Chief Technology Officer in 2024.
The Serko story
Founders Darrin Grafton and Bob Shaw started the Serko journey with Interactive Technologies Limited in 1994, and we've gone from strength to strength ever since.