Xero Limited announced the appointment of Graham Smith as independent chairman of the board of the company. This follows the impending resignation of Chris Liddell as director and chairman. He has notified the company of the need to step down due to his new role as assistant to the president-elect of the United States. Based in the U.S., Smith has already served as the company director for two years and chairs the audit and risk management committee. He has more than 25 years of finance experience in the software and SaaS industry. The intended resignation of Liddell will take effect from January 20, 2017 with the appointment of Smith as chairman effective from that time.