Theresa Gattung is a leading New Zealand business personality and author of her best-selling autobiography Bird on a Wire. Named in Fortune magazine's list of the 50 most powerful women in international business several times since 2002, she was also included in Forbes' list of the world's 50 most powerful women across any sphere in 2006.
Current work
With a professional background spanning financial services, telecommunications and agriculture, Theresa is passionate about business and has a particular interest in opportunities for New Zealand businesses in global export markets. She currently holds a number of governance positions, including Chair of AIA Australia, which in 2012 won the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) Life Insurance Company of the Year and the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Smart Investor Life Company of the Year.
Previous experience
Wool: As the inaugural Chair of Wool Partners International from July 2008 to March 2011, Theresa led the company's drive to reinvigorate the international market for New Zealand's strong wools, applying her leadership skills, international business experience and marketing and branding expertise.
Telecom: From October 1999 to June 2007 Theresa was CEO and Managing Director of Telecom New Zealand, a $5 billion turnover telecommunications business operating in New Zealand and Australia and listed on the NZX, ASX and NYSE. During her tenure as CEO she led Telecom through world-changing technology developments and the evolution of the business from a traditional telco to the number one IT provider in New Zealand.
Manager: Before becoming CEO of Telecom, Theresa held roles there as Group General Manager, accountable for revenues of NZ$3 billion and responsibility for over 3,500 staff, and General Manager, Marketing. Prior to joining Telecom, Theresa held a number of marketing roles in the financial services sector.
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Topics
Business
- Mastering Leadership
- CEO & Company Directors
Thank you so much for joining us as the keynote speaker at our Seventh Women in Multinationals Forums in Melbourne and Sydney. Your luncheon presentation was the highlight of two very succes ... keep readingsful meetings. It was highly entertaining and inspiring for the audience of high-potential women, most of whom face a familiar struggle in balancing family and other commitments as they seek to progress their careers within global companies. Your frank reflections on what you'd learned about yourself and corporate life since leaving the fast-paced world of publicly listed companies were particularly valuable - especially the importance of pacing oneself and of maintaining a sense of perspective, personal health and well-being. CEO Forum GroupView more