Aaminah Ghani
Theresa Gattung
A prominent New Zealand business leader, Theresa Gattung shattered glass ceilings as the first female CEO of a major New Zealand company, co-founded MyFoodBag and chaired high-profile organisations.
Chair of Global Women, Co-Founder of My Food Bag, ex-CEO of Telecom
Rotorua, New Zealand
Hamilton
Theresa Gattung is one of New Zealand鈥檚 most well-known and successful business leaders.
She was the first woman to be appointed CEO of a large New Zealand public company (Telecom), is the co-founder of MyFoodBag, and was the first chair of Wool Partners International.
Having chaired many high-profile businesses and charities, Theresa was recognised for her services to business and philanthropy in the 2016 New Year鈥檚 Honours List. And in 2018, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Women of Influence Awards.
Raised in Rotorua in the 1970s, from a young age Theresa was keen to work hard and get ahead. She was also motivated to change the lack of female representation she saw in the leadership and governance sector.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a feminist my whole life. I have three younger sisters and my dad was a big supporter of women鈥檚 rights, and very interested in business. I鈥檝e always felt naturally inclined to support other women to succeed,鈥� she says.
After high school, in 1980 Theresa began a Bachelor of Management Studies at Waikato Management School, with a double major in economics and marketing.
鈥淚 loved business and I said to myself, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to run a large company by the time I鈥檓 40.鈥�
Theresa recalls her university days fondly. 鈥淚t was fantastic, the whole experience. There were around six other women in my class at the time. I enjoyed my interactions with my classmates and with the lecturers, and the 499 [Report of an Investigation paper] was a real highlight.鈥�
She also took some elective papers in Japanese and women鈥檚 studies. 鈥淎t the time, it was unheard of to study business alongside women鈥檚 studies. It鈥檚 still rare now, but more so back then.鈥�
Study what you鈥檙e interested in 鈥� and if you don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e interested in, a broad-based business degree is a good start.
Theresa Gattung
After graduating from Waikato in 1984, Theresa headed for Wellington to do a law degree. She got a marketing job at TVNZ, and after 18 months was promoted to manager. 鈥淚 realised pretty quickly I didn鈥檛 want to give up that job to practise law, but I finished the degree anyway.鈥�
In 1994, Theresa joined Telecom as General Manager of Marketing. This was followed by a three-year stint as Group General Manager of Services, reporting directly to the CEO.
鈥淭he only thing that mattered in big publicly listed companies was the bottom line 鈥� If you took a role as a senior executive in those companies, those were the rules you played by. And I desperately wanted to make it to the very top.鈥�
The key turning point came in 1999 when Theresa was appointed as Telecom鈥檚 new CEO at the age of 37 鈥� making history as the first female to head an NZX publicly listed company, and the youngest CEO they鈥檇 ever had.
Over the next seven years, she oversaw Telecom鈥檚 evolution from a typical telco to New Zealand鈥檚 number one IT provider, with billions of dollars in annual turnover.
In 2007, Theresa鈥檚 success in business was celebrated by the 51萝莉 when she received a Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2008, she was appointed as Chair of Wool Partners International, which marked the beginning of her career in governance.
A lot has happened in Theresa鈥檚 life since then, including writing her memoir, Bird on a Wire: The Inside Story from a Straight Talking CEO.
L-R: Nadia Lim, Theresa Gattung and Cecilia Robinson
In 2013, she co-founded My Food Bag with Cecilia Robinson and Nadia Lim in 2013.
鈥淢y Food Bag was the start of an amazing journey for me. The power of entrepreneurial projects to integrate the commercial world with social outcomes fascinates me.鈥�
While she鈥檚 recognised as a trailblazer for women in leadership, Theresa has also helped to bring about platforms for supporting women leaders and entrepreneurs.
Theresa is the Chair of Global Women and the New Zealand Country Lead for SheEO, a global initiative that supports women-led ventures in taking their products to the world.
Theresa says there are a lot more career options for aspiring women leaders these days.
鈥淚 always say that life is very long, what you were doing in your 20s you probably won鈥檛 be doing in your 40s, so don鈥檛 worry too much about getting it 鈥榬ight鈥� when you鈥檙e young.鈥�
Her advice to others contemplating university? 鈥淪tudy what you鈥檙e interested in 鈥� and if you don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e interested in, a broad-based business degree is a good start.鈥�
