# Stuart McLeod

> Stuart McLeod is an Australian software entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Archie. He co-founded Paycycle with John Freeman, sold it to Xero in 2011, and later co-founded Karbon with Freeman and Ian Vacin. He served as Karbon CEO until 2023. His work has moved from cloud payroll to accounting practice management and AI for accounting firms.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Archie
- **Organizations:** Archie, Karbon, Paycycle Australia, Xero, Waverley Studios, Contract1, Oracle, AusAID
- **Nationality:** Australian
- **Education:** Bachelor of Information Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded Paycycle, acquired by Xero in 2011 for a reported A$1.5 million in cash and shares., Led Xero payroll work following the Paycycle acquisition., Co-founded Karbon, which reported more than 3,000 accounting-firm customers at the 2023 leadership transition.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked in support and then pre-sales technical consulting at Oracle; later worked with John Freeman at AusAID.
- **2009** — Co-founded Paycycle Australia with John Freeman.
- **2011** — Sold Paycycle to Xero; joined Xero to lead payroll.
- **2014** — Karbon’s founding work began with John Freeman and Ian Vacin; company history dates its founding to 2014.
- **2022** — Karbon raised a US$66 million Series B led by Tidemark.
- **2023** — Announced handover of Karbon CEO role to Mary Delaney, effective April 1, and continued involvement as a board director.
- **2023** — Started Waverley Studios with Agus Echagüe and Bruce Phillips, according to his later origin account.
- **2024** — Published Archie’s origin story, describing its emergence from Waverley Studios.
- **2026** — Serving as Archie CEO and co-founder; publishing essays about AI and the accounting profession.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Paycycle, acquired by Xero in 2011 for a reported A$1.5 million in cash and shares.
- Led Xero payroll work following the Paycycle acquisition.
- Co-founded Karbon, which reported more than 3,000 accounting-firm customers at the 2023 leadership transition.
- Led Karbon during its US$66 million Series B in 2022.
- Hosted the Accounting Leaders Podcast.
- Co-founded Archie, an AI business focused on accounting work.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published The Repricing on August 25, discussing AI, ownership and accounting-firm economics; said he had moved to the UK after thirteen years in the US.
- **2026-03** — Published The Compounding Unlock on March 15, describing his experience building Archie with autonomous AI development agents.
- **2026-02** — Published The Last Intern on February 24, examining AI’s implications for accounting work and professional training.

## Links

- Website: https://heyarchie.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartwmcleod/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/stuartwmcleod

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/stuart-mcleod
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22