Australians could learn a thing or two from Simon McKeon, the Victorian entrepreneur and humanitarian who was bestowed with the prestigious Australian of the Year award. The 55-year-old Brighton native successfully combines business knowledge and know-how with major philanthropic efforts in Australia and the world over.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the announcement on the lawns of the Parliament House on Tuesday night in Canberra and thanked McKeon for his ongoing contributions to social causes. In his acceptance speech, Simon McKeon urged Australians to get involved in volunteer work, especially after the catastrophic Queensland floods devastated the nation. “We as individuals and as a community need to nurture the non-for-profit sector, which in turn nurtures our nation,” he said.
While Simon McKeon has been a successful investment banker throughout his career, he dedicates his time to social causes as as an executive chairman at Macquarie Group and Chairman of the CSIRO and Business for Millennium Development, which encourages business to engage with the developing world.
McKeon is also involved with World Vision International, the Global Poverty Project and Red Dust Role Models, which works with remote Indigenous communities. The non-for-profit sector has been an integral part of his work. “It's a sector which willingly tackles the unwanted tasks, the tasks that neither business nor government is able to do,” McKeon said Tuesday evening.
McKeon also has multiple sclerosis, and recently retired as the founding chairman of MS Research Australia. Despite the MS, McKeon says he in great shape and doesn’t take any day for granted.
Simon McKeon is also a father of four and an avid speed sailor. Along with Tim Daddo, McKeon set a 500-metre record of 46.52 knots in 1993.
JOIN THE NETWORK
