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.
Darrin Grafton
CEO and Co-founder
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
Our vision
+ mission
Our guiding
principles
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.
Serko’s leadership team
Board of directors
Claudia has been a founding member of two highly successful entrepreneurial ventures. The first venture was Massive Incorporated, a network for advertising in video games. Massive was sold to Microsoft in 2006. In 2009 she co-founded Victors & Spoils (‘V&S’), the first advertising agency built on the principles of crowdsourcing. V&S was majority acquired by French holding company Havas Worldwide in 2011. Claudia is a strong supporter of the New Zealand start-up scene as an active mentor and adviser. She is also a director of Air New Zealand and Vista Group. Claudia holds an LLB (Hons) and BCA from Victoria University (Wellington).
Jan is Chair of Ports of Auckland Limited. She is a member of the University of Auckland Council and was previously a member of the Capital Investment Committee of the National Health Board. Jan was previously Chair of Westpac New Zealand, Deputy Chair for Air New Zealand, and director of Beca, AIG NZ and Meridian Energy Limited. 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.
Sean has established and grown two ground-breaking Silicon Valley technology companies: Primer, an AI and machine learning company where he was CEO from 2015 to 2023 and Quid, an AI-powered visualisation company where he was CTO. In his early career, he was a research scientist at NASA and a research fellow at the University of Oxford where he published ground-breaking research into the mathematics of war in leading science journal Nature. He also served on the board of Anadarko Petroleum, a US-based Fortune 500 energy company, from 2015 until its acquisition in 2019. Dr Gourley has a Master of Science majoring in physics from the University of Canterbury (NZ) and a PhD in physics from the University of Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.
Darrin has more than 30 years’ experience in travel technology and is a recognized industry innovator, previously named as one of the top 25 most influential executives in the travel industry by the BTN Group. Darrin has held directorships and senior management positions across a number of private and public companies, including the Gullivers Travel Group.
In 2021 Darrin was awarded the INFINZ Leadership Award and has previously been awarded the NZX Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Award. He is a member of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ and the Institute of Directors NZ.
Clyde is based in Australia. He is the founder of Optima Boards, providing independent director and advisory services to public, private, family office and charitable entities around the world. Clyde has worked in publishing, media, online and technology sectors, living in the UK, Germany, China and Australia. He is a director of Neuroscience Research Australia and holds a BBus (University of South Australia), as well as an MBA from Cranfield University (UK). Clyde is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Bob has been involved in transforming the travel industry since 1987, collaborating with the world’s leading airlines, travel agencies and global distribution systems. He has held a number of directorships and senior management positions in various high-profile ventures, including Gullivers Travel Group and Interactive Technologies. Bob has been a past finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He is a member of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ, the Institute of Directors NZ/Australia and was awarded the New Zealand Certificate in Data Processing.
Executive team
Darrin has more than 30 years’ experience in travel technology and is a recognized industry innovator, previously named as one of the top 25 most influential executives in the travel industry by the BTN Group. Darrin has held directorships and senior management positions across a number of private and public companies, including the Gullivers Travel Group.
In 2021 Darrin was awarded the INFINZ Leadership Award and has previously been awarded the NZX Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Award. He is a member of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ and the Institute of Directors NZ.
Joydip has more than 25 years of experience building software products and platforms for multiple technology start-ups and enterprise software companies in the US. He’s passionate about creating product-led cultures and operational models to help forward-thinking technology companies navigate the challenges of innovation and scalable growth.
Liz Fraser previously held the role of Commercial Director at MediaWorks. Prior to this role, Liz worked at Air New Zealand in various roles, including Regional General Manager of the Americas region based in Los Angeles, as well as General Manager Customer. Before joining the airline, Liz worked in the media industry, at TVNZ, MSN and MediaWorks TV. Liz is also the Chair of Crescendo Trust of Aotearoa.
Charlie has over 25 years’ experience as an operations executive and management adviser, specialising in business transformation and operational excellence. Over the last decade he has been COO for a number of technology start-ups in the US and Canada.
Shane joined Serko with over 30 years’ experience in finance and commercial leadership roles at Vector, Spark and Pulse Energy, and most recently as the CFO of PushPay. Shane has a BCA and LLB (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Rachael has 20 years of experience in people leadership roles across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, most recently with Expedia Group. She has a passion for unlocking individual, team and organisational potential through transformation.
Simon has more than 20 years’ experience in local and global technology companies and joined Serko as the Vice President (VP) of Engineering in 2023. He has held a number of executive leadership roles, including as Chief Product & Technology Officer at Trade Me and VP of Engineering at Halter.
Executive leadership team
Darrin has more than 30 years’ experience in travel technology and is a recognized industry innovator, previously named as one of the top 25 most influential executives in the travel industry by the BTN Group. Darrin has held directorships and senior management positions across a number of private and public companies, including the Gullivers Travel Group.
In 2021 Darrin was awarded the INFINZ Leadership Award and has previously been awarded the NZX Hi-Tech Entrepreneur Award. He is a member of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ and the Institute of Directors NZ.
Joydip has more than 25 years of experience building software products and platforms for multiple technology start-ups and enterprise software companies in the US. He’s passionate about creating product-led cultures and operational models to help forward-thinking technology companies navigate the challenges of innovation and scalable growth.
Liz Fraser previously held the role of Commercial Director at MediaWorks. Prior to this role, Liz worked at Air New Zealand in various roles, including Regional General Manager of the Americas region based in Los Angeles, as well as General Manager Customer. Before joining the airline, Liz worked in the media industry, at TVNZ, MSN and MediaWorks TV. Liz is also the Chair of Crescendo Trust of Aotearoa.
Charlie has over 25 years’ experience as an operations executive and management adviser, specialising in business transformation and operational excellence. Over the last decade he has been COO for a number of technology start-ups in the US and Canada.
Shane joined Serko with over 30 years’ experience in finance and commercial leadership roles at Vector, Spark and Pulse Energy, and most recently as the CFO of PushPay. Shane has a BCA and LLB (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Rachael has 20 years of experience in people leadership roles across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, most recently with Expedia Group. She has a passion for unlocking individual, team and organisational potential through transformation.
Simon has more than 20 years’ experience in local and global technology companies and joined Serko as the Vice President (VP) of Engineering in 2023. He has held a number of executive leadership roles, including as Chief Product & Technology Officer at Trade Me and VP of Engineering at Halter.