Andrew Mawson Partnerships - Building communities

Andrew Mawson

Director

Andrew is a serial entrepreneur.  He is best known for his pioneering work at the Bromley-by-Bow Centre in East London. He also co-founded Community Action Network (CAN).  Recently he co-founded One Church 100 Uses CIC and launched Water City Group to create and implement a vision for East London revitalised by the opportunities of the 21st Century and the 2012 Olympic Games.

Andrew has a unique ability to inspire individuals from different professional backgrounds and to encourage them to work with him.

Andrew was made a life Peer in 2007 in recognition for the social impact of his work and he now sits as an independent crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. He is also the best selling author of the book, “The Social Entrepreneur: Making Communities Work.”

Over 25 years ago, Andrew transformed a dilapidated church building into what today has become a beautiful 3-acre site. The Bromley-by-Bow Centre has developed one of the most innovative integrated regeneration programmes in Britain.  Andrew then helped to found Poplar Harca (one of the first housing companies) and Leaside Regeneration Ltd.  Both these organisations work in close partnership with the Bromley-by-Bow Centre to help build strong communities.

In 1998, Andrew co-founded the Community Action Network(CAN), which both provides business support to social entrepreneurs and offers high quality office space to organisations working in the social sector. Today CAN Mezzanine provides serviced office space in London at No 1 London Bridge, Lomas Street in Southwark and and Old Street near the City of London.

Andrew has now “graduated” from most of these ventures and each of them continues as a successful organisation.  He has now created Andrew Mawson Partnerships as a vehicle both to grow and replicate his approach and successes.

Over a decade ago Andrew and his partners wrote one of the earliest papers proposing that the Olympics Games be brought to East London. He is today a Non-Executive Director of the Olympic Park Legacy Company. Over the next 25 years this company will plan, develop, and manage the Olympic Park in East London, creating a lasting legacy from the 2012 Games.

For Andrew, nothing is impossible. His favourite saying is, “live dangerously or do not live at all.”