Teresa Edwards, our office manager, is ex-military — enough said. She keeps our office organised and running smoothly, allowing the design team to focus on what it does best.

Teresa was born and bred in Tauranga with a huge Maori family, raised with a strong work ethic, strong beliefs, and a stronger love for sport. She doesn’t believe in “I can’t”; rather, she maintains a sky’s the limit attitude.

After completing her University Entrance at Tauranga Girl’s College, Teresa studied retail business at Manukau Polytech. Unsure of what her career had in store for her, she was determined to get straight into the workforce and become an independent person earning her own money. At the age of 17 she worked in a pharmaceutical factory, then office and accounts administration for Coates Brothers in Auckland.

Teresa moved back to Tauranga and after having her eldest son, decided to complete a Diploma in Sports, Leisure and Recreation, Majoring in Sports Studies. With a very strong passion for outdoor activities, she was always looking to challenge herself physically and mentally, so she decided to join the New Zealand Army, with a core position as admin clerk and primary role as a soldier.

In this position, Teresa learnt survival skills, physical fitness and combat exercises. She also instructed combat skills to soldiers and survival life skills to civilians from Unlimited Service Volunteers. This included the task of leading three groups of civilians over 6 months through the Southern Alps in sub-zero temperatures.

After 12 years in the Army, finishing at the rank of Sergeant, she was offered a finance position as a civilian, contracting for the Army. This included budget forecasting for training, accounts, using SAP systems for data management, and stock control. During this time, she also decided to broaden her office skills by completing courses in small business management, accounts administration and accounting software.

Near the end of Teresa’s contract, she was offered a job teaching leisure and recreation NZQA unit standards to young adult students and preparing students for the workforce. Teaching became a very rewarding career, helping young adults gain necessary skills and qualifications, as well as nurturing the students’ self-esteem. Unfortunately, after only two years of teaching, funding cuts left her seeking further employment.

This is when her journey with Locus began. Making steady progress through the early years, Teresa helped to build operational procedures, put new and processes of accounts administration systems in place, and support a team of well-rounded and intelligent design engineers, and graphic designers.

Teresa has been the longest standing staff member at Locus, and she works hard to ensure that deadlines are met, paying attention to detail, and ensuring that staff communication doesn’t break down. The great team spirit of the staff and interesting products that she has seen develop over the years is one of the main reasons she has stayed loyal to the company.