The First 15 Years

The Australian Business and Community Network was established on 15 August 2005 as a purpose-led, not-for-profit by a group of CEOs who felt that by collaborating across the business world, they could maximise their impact.

It all started when Michael Hawker, who was CEO of insurance giant IAG at the time, started thinking about how big business could make a difference to kids facing poverty, violence or drugs. He and fellow like-minded CEOs knew that education was crucial for lifting young Australians out of disadvantage.

And so ABCN was born with the aim of business partnering with schools to empower students to achieve more than they imagined possible in the future world of work.

‘Founding ABCN is the best thing I did in my corporate career,’ Michael tells us in 2020. Read his reflections on the first 15 years here.

From then to now

Download the infographic here (PDF document 5.5 MB).

Where to from here

Over the next 15 years, our ambition is to create tens of thousands of life-changing connections between students and mentors each year. Hear our CEO Allegra Spender’s thoughts on our anniversary, how far we’ve come and celebrating this milestone during a pandemic.