Theresa Wells: Connecting data, people and decisions for better infrastructure outcomes

Theresa started her career in waste and environmental management at a nuclear facility in the UK. Early on, she was given access to GIS software with no prior experience and asked to make use of it.

That first exposure revealed something that stayed with her: When information is brought together in a geospatial environment, patterns and relationships emerge that are otherwise hard to see. It was less about the technology itself, and more about the clarity it created.

That experience shaped how she approached complex problems, looking across data, teams and decisions to find connections that turn fragmented information into a coherent picture.

After moving to New Zealand, Theresa built her career in geospatial data and location intelligence, spending over a decade at TerraLink and CoreLogic. Over time, she became known for working across complex, multi-party challenges, seeing the shape of a solution before it had been clearly defined and bringing others with her to make it real.

One example came during the fibre broadband rollout. At the time, retailers couldn't tell customers what broadband was available at their address, and providers had no effective way to share their data. Theresa’s approach was straightforward: bring the data together and build an API that connects the address to network availability in real time.

This solution didn't exist before she built the case for it. Nor did the partnership between competing providers. Both required a clear view of the outcome and the ability to align enough stakeholders to deliver it.

When Theresa joined GHD, she took on the challenge of building its digital services market in New Zealand, at a time when the sector was still defining what digital engineering meant in practice.

The work was less about the technology and more about helping clients understand the long-term value of consistent information management.

In practice, that was the harder part. The technology itself was relatively straightforward. Making the case for it was not. Local government organisations were time-poor, cash-constrained and under pressure to deliver immediate results. Investing in upstream information standards, before the benefits were visible, required a shift in thinking.

One collaboration with Tauranga City Council became a defining example of a different approach. Rather than delivering a solution and retaining control, the focus was on building the client’s capability to manage and apply it themselves.

"We focused on building capability, not dependency.”

That principle is both practical and strategic. Scaling this kind of impact across New Zealand depends on enabling others to adopt and adapt the model, rather than replicating it client by client.

The approach has since been recognised by the industry. In 2025, ACE New Zealand awarded the collaboration its Special Gold Award, the top award of the night, for a groundbreaking digital initiative, setting a new benchmark for consultant-client partnership.

Today, Theresa leads the Enterprise Client Programme for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, one of GHD's most significant government partnerships in New Zealand, spanning transport, digital, advisory, water and environmental services.

What makes the role compelling is its scale, complexity and the opportunity to think ahead, applying the system-level perspective Theresa has developed across her career to decisions that will shape New Zealand's transport infrastructure for decades.

"I spend a lot of time looking two or three years ahead — where pressures on the network will be, how NZTA’s digital ambitions are evolving and what capabilities will be needed next.”

That forward-looking view shapes how Theresa works with both the client and teams, focusing not just on immediate delivery, but on where GHD can add value before challenges emerge.

A key focus for Theresa is how data and AI can support better infrastructure decision-making. For her, this is not a technology conversation, but a fundamental shift in how investment decisions are made.

"We've spent decades building assets. But we haven't always invested in understanding them.”

That is beginning to change. Improved data standards, advances in AI and a growing expectation of evidence-based investment are creating new opportunities to manage infrastructure more effectively and plan with greater confidence.

Theresa applies the same thinking beyond client work. As Inform Workstream Lead for AI Forum New Zealand's AEC sector group, she brings together practitioners, researchers and decision-makers to explore what responsible, practical AI adoption looks like in infrastructure.

Ask Theresa what she values most about her work, and she doesn't start with technology. She starts with people.

It’s not just about solving part of the issue, but addressing what sits underneath it. What Theresa brings to that process is the ability to hold a system-level view, see where it is stuck and build shared understanding so people can move forward with clarity.

For her, it has never been about the sector, but about the quality of the problem and the people willing to work on it. The most meaningful projects are those where clients want real change, not just improvement. That's where systems shift and outcomes follow.