Affiliation

CEO Green World Revolution Ltd., AUS

Biography

Toby Whittington started his first business in 1995 at the age of 18, becoming a professional street performer for over 10 years, touring internationally and entertaining hundreds of thousands of people. He changed direction in 2003 to become a bespoke fashion designer, creating high-priced garments for private clients in Australia, Europe and the United States and winning a scholarship to study haute couture in France at the Paris American Academy of Design. His desire to make a positive change in the world, coupled with his interest in environmental and social issues lead him to co-found Green World Revolution (GWR) as a not-for-profit social enterprise in 2012. As CEO, Toby has focused on growing GWR’s capacity to develop innovative urban farming and horticultural-based activities to provide job opportunities and help Australians get out of poverty that comes with long-term unemployment. Since 2017, Toby has been a recipient of the West Australian 40 Under 40 Business Awards; an Australian representative at the Social Enterprise World Forum; co-presented at the 9th International Social Innovation Research Conference; guest speaker at the Australian Urban Agriculture Forum; key-note speaker at the Australian National Employment Solutions Conference and has co-authored a Chapter in Reclaiming The Commons: Past, present and future of food growing in Australian Towns and Cities (2018, UWA Press).

ceo{at}gwr.org.au

Articles

Exploring the enabling function of complexity leadership, with a theoretical/praxis-based partnership ... down on the farm
Volume: 20, Issue 3
The authors of this paper are also the co-founders of GWR, therefore for easier understanding of both the theoretical constructs and real-time issues covered in this paper the authors are referred to as F1 and F2. Furthermore, the growth of GWR over a five-year period was informed by theoretical constructs drawn from work conducted by F2 as a PhD candidate. These constructs also informed the theoretical development of this paper. The case study presented in this paper was also informed by the lived experience of F1 and F2 as they applied enabling leadership behaviors with their work as co-founders and CEO (F1) and Chairperson (F2) of GWR.