Spark appoints Future Director under the Future Directors Programme

Spark announced today it has appointed Sylvia Ding as a ‘future director’ under the Future Directors programme, effective 1 February 2022 for a period of 12 months.

Ms Ding is currently the ‘General Manager – Reporting and Insights’ at online accounting software company, Xero, where she leads the reporting and insights unit to build and grow the company’s products globally. She brings more than 15 years’ global technology experience through a variety of roles at Vodafone and Amazon across New Zealand, UK, China and Australia.

Ms Ding replaces outgoing Future Director, Ana Wight whose term comes to an end on 31 December 2021.

The Future Directors programme aims to give young talented people with an interest in corporate governance the opportunity to observe and participate in Boardroom discussions for a 12-month period. The aspiring directors attend all Board meetings, but they have no voting rights and are not involved in decision making.

Speaking about the appointment, Spark Chair Justine Smyth said, "The Spark Board is thrilled to appoint Sylvia as a Future Director. Her background in product management and customer delivery along with her deep understanding of data science and AI will bring relevant experience to our board meetings – and I hope she will enjoy the opportunity to sit on the board of a large New Zealand company."

Sylvia said, “I'm excited to join the Spark Board as a Future Director during what is an exciting time for the company as it adapts and grows in a post-Covid landscape. I look forward to the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to Spark, while also learning from the experience of the other board members during my time on the Board.”

Authorised by: Alastair White
GM Capital Markets