New Spark unit to test 'transformative' technologies
By Gavin Evans
Nov. 22 (BusinessDesk) - Spark New Zealand is setting up a new business to pursue long-term opportunities from new
technologies.
Product director Claire Barber will vacate that role – and Spark’s leadership team - at the end of the year to lead the
new unit which will be more focused on research and development than shorter-term commercialisation. It will be distinct
from the rest of the business and she will report directly to Spark's chief executive, Simon Moutter.
Moutter said Barber had played a key role in the almost total transformation of Spark’s "IT stack" and digital
experience capabilities – something he said few other major telcos had achieved.
He had asked Barber to pursue similarly transformative opportunities arising from new technologies such as blockchain,
self-sovereign identity, artificial intelligence, cross reality, and hyper-scale and edge computing.
“Claire will move across to establish this new business – which we have yet to name – from February 2019. While we have
yet to confirm resource and people commitments, she will start with a small, focused team and build from there.”
Spark, the country’s biggest telecommunications provider, is working to stay at the cutting edge of new technologies as
its core mobile and broadband products become commodified in increasingly competitive markets.
In April it detailed plans for a subscription-based streaming service on a dedicated sport platform and earlier this
month said it would start producing local sports content to complement a slew of rights it has secured for international
events, including the 2019 Rugby World Cup and Premier League football in the UK.
From February, Tessa Tierney, currently head of managed data at Spark, will join the company’s leadership team as
product director.
Tierney, previously with Vodafone, has held a variety of senior business sales and marketing roles during her past three
years with Spark. Late last year she took over one of the teams that laid the pathway for the business-wide shift to
Agile – a flatter, more autonomous decision-making structure – in July.
Moutter said Tierney’s contribution to the new operating model had been outstanding. She is now one of the firm’s most
experienced Agile practitioners and that effort has been focused on product development.
“Her promotion is well-deserved and I’m particularly pleased that this represents another demonstration of how our new
Agile operating model encourages Spark’s internal talent to be recognised and flourish.”
(BusinessDesk)