New Zealand operator Spark lined-up customer director Jolie Hodson (pictured) as successor to MD Simon Moutter, who is stepping down at end-June.

In a statement, the operator said Hodson has experience across most major parts of Spark’s business since she joined in 2013. She led major programmes related to business transformation, and has been a key driver of its growth strategies in business cloud and IT services.

Spark chair Justine Smyth said: “Jolie is an accomplished leader with a strong record of delivering results and managing complex business units.”

Moutter took the helm in August 2012 to drive a major turnaround after a demerger of Chorus in 2011 and several years of declining performance.

“In almost every respect, Spark today is a vastly different company than in 2012. We are New Zealand’s leader in wireless communications, with a rejuvenated mobile business across both Spark and Skinny brands, a promising IoT business and a determination to be at the forefront of 5G. We have made exciting plays in entertainment and sports media,” Smyth said.

In early 2018 Spark announced a number of changes to its management team as part of a broader restructure, with the company moving away from a traditional hierarchical set-up based around large business units, towards an agile arrangement where staff are grouped into multi-disciplined teams rather than specific divisions.

As part of the changes, Hodson moved from CEO of Spark Digital to customer director.