Friends help Gattung in time of need
Bsuinesswoman’s charity for women entrepreneurs will go on as she recovers
Kirsty Wynn
High profile friends of Theresa Gattung have stepped into the prominent businesswoman’s shoes as she recovers from a serious health scare.
The former Telecom chief executive was admitted to hospital last week and is now resting and recovering at home as she awaits test results.
Gattung is the director of My Food Bag, the Royal NZ SPCA and online marketplace MyCare.
She is also the co-founder of charitable organisation World Women which recently launched SheEO New Zealand, an international initiative aimed at funding start-ups founded or run by women.
Friend and fellow My Food Bag cofounder Cecilia Robinson along with businesswoman Kirsty Reynolds and television producer Julie Christie have taken the reins of World Women for Gattung until her health improves.
The three will cover Gattung’s meetings and speaking engagements.
“Theresa is at home now and is resting which is awesome, so we are just trying to help out as much as we can,” Robinson said.
Robinson, Christie and Reynolds are all members or “activators” of SheEO.
SheEO — which already operates in America and Canada — brings together 500 local women who each contribute $1100 to create a funding pool of half a million dollars.
The $500,000 fund gets split between the five ventures as a nointerest loan, which is paid back over five years.
Since launching in October last year, SheEO has received applications from more than 100 women-led ventures. There have also been 350 who have signed up as “activators”.
“We are thrilled with the number
of activators who have come on board so far and we still need more,” says Robinson.
The aim is to sign up 500 activators by the end of March.
Gattung told Robinson the goal was achievable because New Zealand women were supportive of each other.
“I said to Theresa, ‘New Zealand is so much smaller than Canada and the US but we have the same goal’.
“Theresa said ‘yes but women in New Zealand are absolutely amazing’. We have women from all walks of life signing up and they get to make a tangible difference for these women.”