Andy Lark has been appointed chief marketing executive at Foxtel ahead of the float of Foxtel and the combined Fox Sports.

Lark a former marketing executive at Dell, Sun Microsystems and the Commonwealth bank has a tough job ahead of him due to expanded competition from the likes of Netflix, Amazon Google and Apple.

Lark who developed the radical ‘Can’ campaign, replaces Mark Buckman who he also replaced at the Commonwealth Bank. Buckman parted company with Foxtel in September after 18 months, a period in which Foxtel launched a new positioning “Foxtel for Everyone” and rolled out streaming service Foxtel Now, a cheaper and more flexible alternative to cable and satellite packages.

The appointment comes as News Corp and Telstra pursue plans to combine Foxtel and Fox Sports into a single sports and entertainment player

Chief executive Peter Tonagh wants to change the public perceptions of the company by underscoring its cutting-edge technology and video-on-demand options.

The only problem is, that while Foxtel had a total monopoly in the Australia market, they price gouged consumers for nearly two decades and this only changed with the arrival of Netflix who very quickly stipped market share away from Foxtel.

Mr Tonagh is repositioning Foxtel to shift the prevailing view that Netflix offers consumers smoother access and a better choice of the latest movies and high-quality programming such as this year’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.

At Foxtel, Mr Lark will oversee the brand & content marketing and customer management & acquisitions departments. He will report to Mr Tonagh and also take responsibility for product management and digital.

“Andy is an outstanding leader, globally recognised for his marketing and leadership in both large companies and high growth start-ups,” said Mr Tonagh.

Most recently, Mr Lark, who writes an industry blog called The Daily Lark, was CMO of global accounting software firm Xero. He has held senior marketing and communications positions at LogLogic, Sun Microsystems and Nortel.

“His passion for content generally will be a great asset for us. I’m thrilled to have him on board,” said Mr Tonagh.