Steve Lawrence is Chief Executive of the Australian Social Innovation Exchange, created to find fresh solutions to Australia’s social challenges through cross-sector collaboration. He also consults in Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
For the last 29 years Steve has been Founder, CEO and Social Entrepreneur with WorkVentures, based in Sydney. Started with a $3000 loan, WorkVentures has annual revenues around $20million and places hundreds of unemployed Australians in jobs each year.
Over the last 30 years Steve has also played a key role in creating over 13 nonprofit organisations. They include JOB futures, United Way Sydney, Jobs Australia, Social Ventures Australia, School for Social Entrepreneurs Australia.
In 2004 Steve received the Social Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for NSW & ACT.
In 2005 WorkVentures and Microsoft won the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership Longevity Award for a 20 year collaboration, bringing technology resources to disadvantaged Australians.