The new hires include John Forrester, VP of U.S, marketing, who had held the same title at RingCentral. Joining as GM of business and corporate development was James Maiocco who led investment and partnership efforts for Microsoft Ventures globally. Xero also hired Angus Norton, as SVP and chief product officer. Norton was said to have led product management for the Microsoft Office business in the U.S. The hirings were announced as Xero reported results for the first half ended September 30. The company's loss reached roughly $19.1 million, 43-percent higher than for the first half of fiscal 2014. Meanwhile, subscription revenue rose at a faster pace, up 85 percent to roughly $40.6 million. Worldwide, subscriptions at the ended of the most recently completed half reached 371,000, an increase of 76 percent from 211,000 a year earlier. There were 22,000 North American subscribers, up 120 percent from 10,000.