Spark New Zealand announces two additions to leadership squad

Spark New Zealand has announced today two additions to its leadership squad as the company commences its  Agile way of working:

• Matt Bain will be joining Spark in November 2018 as Marketing Director,
  a new role which Spark announced back in March it would be looking to recruit
  for globally; and
• Melissa Anastasiou, Spark’s General Counsel, has been promoted to the
  Leadership Squad with immediate effect.

Managing Director Simon Moutter said the company had set out an ambitious brief for the Marketing Director position: to find a New Zealander with high-quality international experience and proven creative talent and expertise in digital and social media marketing. 

“We have found that person in Matt Bain. Matt is currently European Managing Director for AKQA – one of world’s leading innovation and brand experience agencies, with responsibility for 500+
employees across five countries. He has built an impeccable international reputation with some of the world’s greatest brands - Nike, Heineken, Mini, Rolls Royce, Siemens, EASports, Audi, Phillips, Tommy Hilfiger and KLM amongst others. 

“In this new role, Matt will bring his outstanding digital marketing and customer experience skills right into the centre of our thinking and actions.”

A New Zealander, Matt will be returning home with his family later this year, starting at Spark in November 2018.

Effectively immediately, Melissa Anastasiou has also joined the Leadership Squad. She has been with the company since 2009 and, as General Counsel, has been member of Spark’s wider leadership team for some time.

“More recently, Melissa has taken on a broader role through her work on Spark’s culture and Diversity & Inclusion programmes, as well as involvement in a range of strategic initiatives. I feel it is timely to acknowledge her talents by bringing Melissa onto the Leadership Squad,” Mr Moutter commented.

As Spark moves into the exciting new world of Agile from this week, the full Leadership Squad line-up is as follows:

Managing Director                 Simon Moutter

Customer Director                  Jolie Hodson

Finance Director (CFO)          David Chalmers

General Counsel                      Melissa Anastasiou

HR Director                               Joe McCollum

Marketing Director                  Matt Bain (from November 2018)

Product Director                      Claire Barber

Technology Director                 Mark Beder

As their titles indicate, each leadership squad member will bring specific knowledge, insights and perspectives to the top table.

The Agile model moves away from a traditional hierarchical organisational structure based around large
business units and instead involves self-managing teams, each with clear accountabilities, who

collaborate quickly and effectively with one another to deliver great products and services for customers. In this model, business leaders act as catalysts, showing direction and setting up the systems for people to do their jobs effectively.

From this week, approximately 40% of Spark’s people who work in the ‘engine room’ (the core functions such as network, IT, product development and segment marketing) are forming into Agile teams.

“We recognised from the outset that Agile may not suit everyone, so we
gave our people working in these areas the option of applying for one of these
new Agile roles, seeking redeployment into another part of Spark, or opting for
redundancy,” Mr Moutter said.

“As at the end of last week, more than 96% of our people offered Agile roles have accepted them and we are continuing to engage with the few remaining people to resolve any uncertainties they may have. We’ve worked extremely hard over the past six months to inform and engage our people about Agile, so we’re delighted that the overwhelming majority are looking enthusiastically to this
new way of working.”