Andrew Liveris, 60, was born in Darwin, to Greek parents. He is one of Australias’s most successful businessmen, and for that he received an Order of Australia, which was announced on Australia Day, earlier this year. Liveris received his award during a subtle but emotional ceremony at Government House in Canberra, attended by his Australian born wife and two of three adult children.

Dow Chemical Company chairman and chief executive is a man of great personal significance, with a heavy say on President Obamas’ Business Roundtable as co-chair, serving as a trustee for the United States Council for International Business, chairman of IBM, while being an active member of the Special Olympics’ International Board. Liveris makes sure Dow’s yearly revenues reach up to $60 billion, sky-rocketing the colossus in Fortune’s top 50 of US companies.

His late grandfather migrated to Australia in 1915 and never left. Andrew Liveris grew up in Darwin, in a neighbourhood where he’d play on the streets amongst many children of different nationalities, something that helped him form his multidimensional personality. He grew up as a Greek, but as an Australian as well, and learned to respect and co-exist with different cultures; think outside the box. He managed to balance his Anglo-Saxon education with his Greek Orthodox upbringing and rise up the global ladder of success straight to the top, even if it wasn’t his original plan.

Liveris started out as a clerk working for Dow, soon after completing his studies on Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland. It did not take him long to be offered a regional role in Hong Kong. He accepted the overseas job, which he thought would be temporary, hoping to return to Australia as General Manager of Dow Australia Operations. He began to get promoted within the company, which clearly meant his potential was being acknowledged and his ground-breaking views on free markets and low-cost manufacturing. He eliminated all other candidates he came across and became chief executive on 2004. Since 2006, he has been the chairman of the company, articulating and advocating on its behalf.

Andrew Liveris knows the risks that lie with the commodification of innovations in the chemical industry, and always tries to be one step ahead of trends and investments. What his financial incentive in dealing with conglomerate enterprises has taught him, he is seriously thinking of sharing while pursuing a career in politics, which could follow his retirement from Dow. A return to Sydney, where he owns property, would add the silver lining to his success.