Spark New Zealand hired John Macaskill-Smith (pictured) to head its health services division, replacing Will Reddy who left in April.

In a statement, Spark noted Macaskill-Smith has broad experience in the public and private sectors, citing senior roles across a range of organisations including the Ministry of Health and other government programmes.

He was previously CNO at Tend Health, an organisation providing access to mental healthcare for medical professionals.

Mark Beder, Spark customer director for enterprise and government, said “technology is a critical enabler of making patient care more efficient, personalised and accessible”.

He added Macaskill-Smith’s appointment is “a natural progression in his mission to elevate healthcare experiences for patients and clinicians” in the nation.

Following five years as the chief executive of Spark Health, Reedy joined Accenture New Zealand as health lead.

Spark Health supports healthcare organisations transform by providing software and IT services, digital infrastructure, and cloud services.

The operator identified the digital health, IoT and sport segments as future growth drivers in 2020.