Perhaps best known for her role as CEO of Telecom New Zealand, Theresa was the first female CEO of an NZX listed company. Since leaving Telecom, she divides her time between professional governance, entrepreneurial projects, and philanthropic work.

As co-founder of My Food Bag, alongside Cecilia Robinson and Nadia Lim, she helped take the start-up to a nationwide company with a turnover of over $130m.

She is currently Chair AIA New Zealand, Chair Tend, Chair Global Women, a member of the National Advisory Board on the Employment of Women.

In 2021 she funded the Theresa Gattung Chair of Women in Entrepreneurship within the University of Auckland Business School and also launched the Gattung Foundation whose main charitable purposes are to support the relief of poverty, the education and advancement of women, Māori and Pasifika to reduce inequality and the care, support and protection of animals.

In the 2015 New Year’s Honours List, Theresa was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy.