Evan Thornley

Evan Thornley is chief executive officer of Better Place Australia. He is responsible for all aspects of the company’s direction, strategy, financing and operations, including development of the Better Place electric vehicle network in Australia. He leads a local team in support of the Better Place mission to reduce oil dependence by delivering personal transportation as a sustainable service.

Before joining Better Place, Thornley served in the Victorian Parliament. He was elected from the Southern Metropolitan Region to the Legislative Council and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier.

Prior to that, Thornley was a successful technology entrepreneur. He founded and served as chairman and CEO of LookSmart Ltd. (NASD: LOOK), an Internet search advertising company that remains one of the few Australian companies to be taken public on the NASDAQ Stock Market. Thornley also has served in various roles with McKinsey & Company, a leading global management-consulting firm, in Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and New York.

Thornley Chairs the Board of Per Capita, a public policy think tank and is the National Secretary of the Australian Fabian Society. He serves on the board of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, a leading faith-based welfare agency in Melbourne, and was a Founding Director of www.getup.org.au an online activist network with over 300,000 members.

Thornley holds degrees in Law and Commerce from The University of Melbourne, where he served as student body President. He lives with his wife Tracey and their three children in Melbourne.