Spark New Zealand has named Ed Hyde as the new CEO for Spark Ventures, replacing Rod Snodgrass whose departure was foreshadowed in April.
Hyde, who will take up his new role on 1 October, joined Spark’s predecessor, Telecom NZ, in 2006 as head of channels and customer experience for retail NGT (Telecom’s next generation Telecom project) and is currently CEO of Qrious, Spark’s data analytics business, launched in March 2014.
Prior to taking on the role of Qrious CEO he was senior vice president for Telecom Digital Ventures (which became Spark Ventures), general manager of mobile products for Telecom NZ and commercial director for Yes Telecom in the UK.
According to his LinkedIn profile he holds a number of board roles and has experience across a range of small and large enterprises involving strategic, operational and development responsibilities.
Spark managing director Simon Moutter said Hyde had been instrumental in the success of Spark Ventures. “Spark Ventures has played an important innovation role in our transformation to date and, as we shift to ‘Ventures 2.0’, it will continue to be influential in setting the company’s forward-looking agenda.”
He said Hyde’s move into the CEO Spark Ventures role will “understandably have an impact on leadership in Qrious, which we will finalise and announce shortly.”