ROLLER has appointed Mandy Gooch-Smith as Chief Performance Officer, strengthening its Senior Leadership Team as the company enters its next phase of global growth.
Based in Sydney, Mandy will strengthen operating rhythms, leadership capability, talent strategy, and the systems that enable teams to do their best work, all while preserving what makes ROLLER’s culture special.
Mandy brings a rare breadth of cross-functional experience to the role, having held senior leadership positions including COO, Chief People Officer, Head of CX, and Head of Sales across high-growth and established organizations.
We sat down with Mandy to talk about why she joined ROLLER, what “performance” really means, and how she’s thinking about the next phase of our journey.
Q&A with Mandy Gooch-Smith
How would you describe the role of Chief Performance Officer?
I’ll be focused on building the operating rhythms, processes, teams, tools, reporting mechanisms and culture to drive performance.
What attracted you to ROLLER at this stage of the journey?
This stage of growth is my favourite. We have clear product-market fit, clarity on what we need to do to win the category, and a strong global track record of customer success.
The focus now is on how we execute, how we ensure each individual and team is set up for success. This can often be the unglamorous side of scaling a business, but building the operating rhythm, processes, reporting mechanisms, tools and culture to drive performance is my favourite part of the journey.
We’re simultaneously expanding our product, segments and geographies, growing our team, integrating other businesses, and continuing to improve our core platform and operations. The ambition and grit needed to execute that is what got me hooked.
You’ve scaled businesses through high-growth phases before. What lessons are most relevant to ROLLER right now?
The most important thing is understanding what has made the business successful to date, and what makes it special.
How do we retain those things and find a way to codify and scale them, while letting go of everything else that won’t serve us moving forward?
For ROLLER, that will no doubt include many of our values like ‘obsess over customer success’ and ‘keep it real’.
What’s your leadership style?
Radical candor; leading with compassion and building trust and loyalty.
Trust comes from vulnerability. Leaders who are vulnerable are genuine leaders, and people trust genuine leaders.
Vulnerability doesn’t mean having all the answers. It’s about sharing problems. It’s owning mistakes and showing up when things are uncertain. These are the qualities people trust. It’s genuine, it’s relatable, and people connect to it.
What do you think great leaders do consistently?
Leadership isn’t about constant motivation or positivity, it’s about showing up consistently. You manage consistently, set goals consistently, and reward performance consistently. That builds trust.
One of the most powerful lessons you’ve learned about leadership?
I’ve learned that we wildly undervalue raw capability. Leadership impact shouldn’t be measured solely by tenure, but by grit, drive, and the ability to galvanize teams.
Many of the challenges in tech today are being solved for the first time, particularly with AI. Experience is invaluable, but first-principles thinking is often underrated and equally impactful. When we let go of outdated playbooks, we open a path to real progress.
Looking ahead
At its core, Mandy’s role is about strengthening the systems, rhythms, and leadership practices that help teams thrive, and in turn, deliver the greatest value to ROLLER’s customers.
As a mum of two young children and a recent Australian Financial Review Women in Leadership Awards honouree, she brings both commercial depth and personal perspective to the role.
With Mandy joining the Senior Leadership Team, ROLLER continues to invest in the talent and capability required to scale thoughtfully, raise the bar, and play the infinite game.
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