No woman has ever risen as far in the corporate world as former Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung.

Her appointment, at such a young age and from the marking ranks, astounded the country, and her leadership of the big telco that Kiwis love to hate was never far from the headlines.

This no-holds-barred memoir tells of her ambition, her determination, and her rise to business power. It tells of the highs of running a vitally important company such as Telecom and also the lows, as the company struggled with the Australian AAPT acquisition, shareholder pressure, antagonism from the government, battles with its telco competitors and changing technology. After seven years she felt she'd given her all.

The personal toll of those tough years at the top had been significant and Gattung is frank about how she had to rebuild her life with a clear focus. First with her chic Californian fashion store showcasing New Zealand fashion, and now with her chairmanship of the company that's uniting sheep farmers to get better export returns, she's in the vanguard of New Zealand business leaders determined to find a way to pay our way in the world again.

First published March 2010.