Senior Client Partner

Christa Patrylak joins team Sparq as CMO. Sparq has announced the appointment of Christa Patrylak as Chief Marketing Officer. Patrylak has been working at Sparq since August 2025 as the interim CMO. Her appointment to the role is now permanent. During the first six months, she oversaw the launch of the AI-accelerated solution engineering partner's new brand and website. During the first six months, she worked with the leadership team to "clarify the company's point of view, align marketing to growth-critical workflows and strengthen the systems that support go-to-market execution." Now in the role permanently she will help guide Sparq forward as it continues to innovate and help others innovate with its transformation services. She is now responsible for the global marketing strategy, including positioning, demand, brand and lifecycle marketing. She will focus on messages that demonstrate how Sparq helps enterprises operationalise AI without destabilising core systems. Ingrid Curtis, CEO of Sparq, who was appointed CEO in October, commented, "Growth slows when systems can't adapt. Christa understands how to build marketing systems that operate with the same rigor we apply to engineering. She brings strong judgment, deep experience operating at scale and a clear understanding of how to connect strategy to execution. That discipline matters as Sparq continues to grow." Who is Christa Patrylak. Patrylak has over 20 years of experience leading marketing teams and helping transform organisations. She was previously a partner and interim CMO at the Chameleon Collective. She also held senior marketing positions at several tech firms, including Copass, SoulCycle, HBO, and Ubisoft. At HBO, she led the organisation from a content-centric business to a data-driven subscription organisation, resulting in millions of subs and a significant lift in retention. She championed a unified subscriber data strategy. She also led the successful implementation of two MarTech platforms to enable personalised multi-channel marketing at scale. These helped embed lifecycle marketing and a retention strategy within the company. She is still an advisor to the Chameleon Collective and Atlanta Tech Village, and a founding advisory board member of Penny Finance Inc. Patrylak commented, "I'm excited to step into this role at a moment when so many organizations are being forced to rethink how Growth really happens. I've always been drawn to environments where complexity is rising, the answers aren't obvious, and progress depends on building systems that can evolve. "That spirit is deeply embedded at Sparq. This is a company that approaches transformation with intention and courage, and I'm looking forward to helping shape how we show up in the market while scaling alongside a truly exceptional team." Enterprise times: what does this mean. Sparq is one of a new generation of AI-native tech and business consulting firms. It helps customers implement AI capabilities at scale. Under Curti's leadership, the company is set to grow during 2026. In a recent LinkedIn post, Curtis noted, "Heading into a new year, the gap between how work is changing and how leaders respond to it will matter more than any new tool. Transformation now is about proximity and commitment. Stay close to the data. Stay close to the work." "This is a big focus at Sparq as we continue to streamline teams, double down on our AI enablement, and drive time to impact for our clients." Curtis is building an experienced leadership team around her. Recent appointments have included Jason Paru as chief financial officer, Kyle Boston as chief growth officer, and now Patrylak. Backed by Harvest Partners Ascend, which has owned a majority stake in the business since 2023, it will be interesting to follow Sparq's growth, whether organic or inorganic, in 2026.

Sparq, an AI-accelerated solution engineering partner, has appointed Christa Patrylak as chief marketing officer. Patrylak previously served as interim CMO at the Atlanta-based company, working to align marketing strategy with growth objectives. In her new role, Patrylak will oversee global marketing strategy, including positioning, demand generation, brand and lifecycle marketing. She brings over 20 years of experience leading marketing transformation at major organisations including HBO, where she supported the transition to a data-driven, direct-to-consumer subscription model, as well as Compass, Ubisoft, Paramount and SoulCycle. The appointment follows recent executive expansions at Sparq, including new chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief growth officer roles, as the company scales its services amid growing enterprise demand for AI-capable operational systems.

Sparq appoints Ingrid Curtis as CEO. Sparq has appointment Ingrid Curtis as its new CEO. The appointment comes after founder Monty Hamilton stepped down from the role, retaining a position on the board of Directors. This change is part of Hamilton's succession plan and sees the promotion of Curtis, who has been at the company for 17 years. Alongside the CEO appointment, Sparq also announced several other recent changes to the leadership team. Jason Paru joined in September as Chief Financial Officer, and Kyle Boston joined as Chief Growth Officer, returning to an executive role after announcing his retirement only a month ago. The three leaders will steer Sparq on its next chapter of growth as an end-to-end technology solutions partner built to solve, not just to build. Ingrid Curtis, CEO of Sparq, commented, "Transformation is challenging; however, with the evolution of AI, overcoming previously impossible challenges becomes possible. "We help and partner with our clients to navigate the complexities of change while optimising performance across all areas of the business. We've evolved our organization to align with our clients' evolution- focused on emerging needs for data and analytics as key differentiators." Evolution rather than change. Historically, Sparq was known for its digital engineering services. In recent years, it has developed a modular approach that addresses business challenges end-to-end through AI-enabled solutions across product, engineering, data, and analytics. Recent projects have included developing an AI-powered Mobile Application that transformed the stadium bag-check process for a major US stadium. The app objectively and consistently validates bags, transforming the fan experience, reducing staff stress, and creating tech with applications beyond stadium security. The application enables security to measure bag size and transparency consistently. Thus, removing subjectivity and resulting in shorter inspection times and fewer delays at entrances. The new leadership will maintain the early philosophy and vision developed by Hamilton. Hamilton created: "A commitment to remove barriers and walk alongside our clients is part of our DNA." His vision was to widen access to technology outside major business hubs for ambitious companies. Sparq has consistently delivered innovative technology solutions through partnerships that are personal, precise, and built to last. Who are the leadership triumvirate? Curtis joined Sparq in 2008 as Vice President of Client Services. She became COO in 2015 and was promoted to President in 2021. Thus, leading the evolution from a US-based digital engineering shop into a global, AI-first data and engineering consultancy. She joined Sparq after spending five years at Clarkson Consulting. She has a BSc in Business, Management Information Systems from Babson College. Jason Paru joined from Source Advisors, where he had served as COO and CFO for the past 3 years. He has held similar roles at other professional services firms, driving growth, transformation, and value creation across private equity-backed enterprises. Previous firms have included LAC Group, Estify Inc., Walker Advertising, and Pinnacle Workforce Logistics. At LAC Group, he played a critical role in positioning the company for an exit in 6 months with multiple offers and led quality-of-earnings. Executed accretive strategic acquisition and was responsible for post-closing integration. Led the carve-out of three business units and realised a positive exit of the core business. He has deep experience in funding rounds and in leading professional services firms. Paru has an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Management and a BA in economics from Northwestern University. Boston joins from Spaulding Ridge, where he was Senior Managing Partner responsible for Revenue, Growth and Strategy. He is also a Partner Advisory Board Member at Salesforce and a board advisor at Elios Talent. He has held leadership roles at Apprio and Huron, and has experience across both professional services and technology firms. His career has seen him help grow professional services organisations in the digital and IT consulting sector. He has deep expertise in enterprise software, data, and organisational Transformation. He has extensive experience leading end-to-end Sales, Marketing, and GTM functions and has driven strong revenue growth while scaling organisations. Enterprise times: what does this mean. For a succession plan, Hamilton has assembled an excellent team on paper. Curtis brings stability to the role; she has led the firm's Transformation as President and is fully embedded in the philosophy and culture. However, it remains to be seen how she works alongside the two new hires. Each member will have strong opinions on how they see Sparq evolving and prospering. It will be interesting to see how their visions and strategies align over the next few months. However, with Hamilton still on the board of directors, he will continue to advise and ensure that what he built remains on the right track.