SPK - Spark announces changes to Leadership Squad

Friday 24th March 2023

Spark today announced changes to its Leadership Squad, with the creation of two new roles that will replace the current Customer Director role – Customer Director Enterprise and Government, and

SME and Consumer Director.

The Customer Director role has traditionally spanned the consumer market and the small to medium (SME), enterprise, and government segments of the business market. As enterprise and government customers increasingly seek more complex solutions that leverage Spark’s investment in new technologies, Spark has created two roles dedicated to these different segments of the market to deliver greater focus and better outcomes for customers.

The development of Spark’s new technologies will be incorporated into the Customer Director Enterprise and Government role to align Spark’s technology investment more closely to the evolving needs and innovation objectives of its customers.

As such, Spark’s current Chief Operating Officer role will become Network and Operations Director, with a focus on the continued delivery of a highly resilient, automated, and secure network.

As a result of these changes, and after a significant leadership career spanning 10 years with Spark, Customer Director Grant McBeath has decided he would like to explore new opportunities outside Spark.

Spark’s current Chief Operating Officer, Mark Beder, will move into the Customer Director Enterprise and Government role, bringing with him 20 years’ experience at Spark and knowledge of the wide range of technologies that serve Spark’s customers today, and those that will serve them in the future.

Spark’s Consumer and SME Channels Lead, Greg Clark, will move into the role of SME and Consumer Director. Greg joined Spark in 2013 and during his time has led the transformation of the broader retail network and Spark’s SME operating model, delivering strong revenue growth and higher levels of customer engagement.

Spark will commence an internal and external search to appoint a Network and Operations Director in the coming months.

Spark CEO Jolie Hodson said “As our significant investments in new technologies mature and enable new customer solutions it makes sense to unite deep technical expertise with our channels to market and service capability, to deliver the best outcomes for our customers.

“Mark has a wealth of business experience, technology and commercial expertise, and leads large teams to achieve transformative outcomes. When combined with his experience supporting several of our largest customers on complex transformation projects within his current role, he is very well placed to grow our B2B and high-tech portfolios.

“Greg has proven leadership capability having ably led the consumer and small to medium business segments for several years now and delivering great results for our customers and for Spark. I am really pleased to be able to promote Greg from within, which is testament to the great talent we invest in at Spark.

“I would like to thank Grant for the significant contribution he has made since he joined the business 10 years ago, in the transformation of our retail consumer business and more recently his role leading the broader Customer portfolio. Grant is a champion for customer centricity and a results-focussed and committed people leader, and we wish him all the very best for the future.”

The changes are effective from 1 July 2023, at which time the Spark Leadership Squad will include:

• Jolie Hodson, CEO

• Melissa Anastasiou, General Counsel

• Matt Bain, Marketing Director

• Mark Beder, Customer Director Enterprise and Government

• Greg Clark, SME and Consumer Director

• Leela Gantman, Corporate Relations and Sustainability Director

• Stefan Knight, Finance Director

• Heather Polglase, People and Culture Director

• Tessa Tierney, Product Director

• To be appointed, Network and Operations Director

Authorised by:

Alexa Preston

Finance Lead Partner – Group Performance and Investor Relations

For more information contact

For media queries please contact:

Ellie Cross

Corporate Relations Lead Partner

(64) 22 630 0665

ellie.cross@spark.co.nz

For investor queries please contact:

Chante Mueller

Head of Investor Relations

(64) 27 469 3062

chante.mueller@spark.co.nz

About Spark

Spark is New Zealand's largest telecommunications and digital services company, with a purpose to help all of New Zealand win big in a digital world. Spark provides mobile, broadband, and digital services to millions of New Zealanders and thousands of New Zealand businesses.

www.sparknz.co.nz

Spark announces changes to Leadership Squad

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