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Richard Sandford has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. Richard currently serves as the Head of Sales and Partnerships at Meridian Energy since May 2020. Prior to that, they worked as the GM Innovation & Business Growth at ChristchurchNZ from July 2018 to May 2020. Richard also held various positions at Spark New Zealand, including General Manager - Customer and Marketing from February 2018 to July 2018, and Head of Business Customer & Marketing from February 2015 to January 2018.

Before their tenure at Spark New Zealand, Richard worked at TVNZ as the General Manager; Media Sales from January 2014 to February 2015, and General Manager; Digital Sales from May 2012 to December 2013.

In addition, Richard has extensive experience at Nokia, where they held several key roles such as Head of Partner Management & Marketing, South East Asia Pacific from January 2011 to April 2012, Head of Entertainment, APAC in 2010, Global Business Manager - Preloads from October 2008 to April 2010, Regional Manager, Nokia Services from September 2007 to October 2008, and Head of Digital Marketing & Marketing Activation Manager from September 2005 to September 2007.

Richard's earlier career also includes roles at BSkyB as Senior Marketing Manager - Sky Brand from February 2005 to September 2005, and Marketing Manager, Sky Sports from July 2004 to February 2005. Richard started their career at Sky Television as a Marketing Manager - Customer Marketing from June 2001 to July 2004. Prior to that, they had worked as a Media Planner/Buyer at Brave New World in the year 2000.

Richard Sandford attended the University of Otago from 1997 to 1999, where they pursued a Bachelor of Commerce degree. During their time at the university, they focused on marketing and management, completing a double major in these fields. Additionally, in October 2022, Richard obtained a certification in the Transformational Executives program from Boma New Zealand.