About Steven Asnicar. 

Group Managing Director.  1Diversity & Diversity Australia

Verified Expertise | Industry Leadership | Measurable Impact

Steven Asnicar stands as one of Australia’s most authoritative voices in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), leading Diversity Australia – the nation’s premier DE&I professional services firm – with a distinguished track record of delivering measurable organisational transformation across multiple industries. His credentials represent a unique convergence of executive leadership, entrepreneurial success, and academic excellence that positions him as a trusted authority in strategic human capital management.

Verified Academic Excellence and Professional Certifications

Steven’s expertise is underpinned by earned qualifications from some of Australia’s leading institutions. He holds a Masters of International Business specialising in Human Capital Management from Bond University, one of Australia’s premier private universities known for its internationally recognised business programmes. His academic foundation also includes a Graduate Certificate of Corporate Management from Deakin University, consistently ranked among Australia’s top-tier institutions, and a Bachelor of Business from The University of Queensland, a member of the prestigious Group of Eight research universities.

His professional certifications demonstrate commitment to governance excellence. Steven is a graduate of the Global Institute of Directors, providing him with internationally recognised director-level governance credentials. Additionally, he maintains certification as a qualified RABQSA Auditor through Exemplar Global (formerly RABQSA), the world’s leading certification body for management systems auditors. This certification, requiring extensive training in ISO management systems and ongoing professional development, positions him amongst an elite group of professionals qualified to conduct third-party audits of international quality management systems.

Proven Industry Authority and Measurable Impact

Steven’s industry authority is evidenced by his previous service as a committee member of the Australian Logistics Council, Australia’s peak national body representing major companies across the freight and logistics supply chain. Through this role, he gained over two decades of transport and logistics experience working with well-known corporates and Blue Chip companies, contributing to national policy development affecting billions of dollars in freight movements annually.

Under Steven’s leadership as Managing Director, Diversity Australia operates with a team of over 20 highly qualified consultants with advanced degrees and extensive industry experience. The firm’s credentials include alignment with Global ISO Diversity and Inclusion Standards, Australian Inclusive Service Standards (ISS), and ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations for DE&I – representing the highest levels of professional compliance and quality assurance in the industry.

Entrepreneurial Track Record and Market Leadership

Steven’s entrepreneurial credentials span multiple successful ventures across more than two decades. He founded and led a successful specialist executive search, leadership development and assessment firm in Asia Pacific for 18 years, building this into a recognised market leader before establishing Diversity Australia. His business portfolio demonstrates consistent success across diverse sectors:

• Urban Executive Pty Ltd: An executive search firm operating from Brisbane’s premium commercial district, specialising in senior leadership placements across healthcare, logistics, and energy sectors
• Urban E-Learning: A registered training organisation providing professional development solutions
• Chain of Responsibility Australia: Delivering compliance training for Australia’s transport and logistics sector
• Urban Global: Founded in 2003, this umbrella group brand provided leadership development and assessment services throughout the Asia Pacific region

Verified Thought Leadership and Industry Recognition

Steven maintains thought leadership status with over 29,000 followers on his LinkedIn profile, where he regularly publishes evidence-based insights on contemporary workplace challenges. His commentary influences industry discourse, with recent observations highlighting the strategic shift “from tick-box compliance to strategic culture change” in Australian organisations’ approach to DE&I.

His thought leadership extends to practical implementation guidance across challenging sectors. Recent publications include comprehensive frameworks for incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in mine management and analysis of Australia’s emerging “right to disconnect” legislation. These contributions demonstrate his ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into actionable business strategies.

Executive Advisory and Coaching Excellence

Steven is a highly experienced Executive and Coach, working with Boards, individuals and teams at the C-Suite level. He also advises clients on leadership development, succession planning and executive assessment. His coaching methodology integrates an innovative, data informed approach to co-create impactful yet pragmatic client solutions, reflecting his understanding that sustainable organisational change requires both strategic vision, practical implementation frameworks and rigorous compliance.

His client base spans ASX-listed companies, government agencies, and multinational corporations seeking evidence-based approaches to culture transformation. The measurable outcomes from his interventions include improved employee engagement scores, enhanced talent retention rates, and demonstrable increases in inclusive leadership behaviours across client organisations.

Market Position and Competitive Advantage

Diversity Australia under Steven’s leadership has been recognised as “one of the country’s leading DE&I consulting firms”, with the organisation establishing itself as the benchmark for professional services in this sector. The firm’s competitive advantage lies in its systematic approach: training content researched and created by subject matter experts, benchmarked across our diverse senior team, ensuring clients receive solutions grounded in contemporary research and industry best practice.

Steven’s market insight proves particularly valuable in predicting industry trends. “The organisations that treat this as a strategic investment rather than a compliance cost will be the ones that thrive,” he predicts. “We’re already seeing significant differences in talent attraction and retention between companies that have embraced genuine culture change and those still treating diversity as a box-ticking exercise.”

Verified Industry Partnerships and Accreditations

Steven’s firm maintains partnerships with leading industry bodies, demonstrating ongoing commitment to professional excellence. Diversity Australia holds membership with APSCo Australia, the professional association for recruitment and staffing companies, providing additional validation of the firm’s credibility within the broader human capital management sector.  Additonally Steven has founded one of Australia’s leading Whistle Blowing firms https://www.whistleblowingservice.com.au/ which assists firms and employees alike with the mandatory whistleblowing legilsation in Australia.

The organisation’s training programmes meet the highest industry standards, incorporating frameworks from multiple international bodies whilst maintaining alignment with Australian regulatory requirements. This dual focus ensures clients receive solutions that are both globally informed and locally compliant.

Measurable Business Impact and Client Outcomes

Steven’s approach consistently delivers quantifiable results for client organisations. His systematic methodology focuses on embedding DE&I principles into core business processes rather than treating them as peripheral initiatives. This approach has resulted in measurable improvements across key performance indicators including employee engagement, talent retention, and organisational culture assessments.

Recent client engagements have demonstrated his ability to navigate complex organisational challenges whilst maintaining stakeholder alignment and achieving sustainable culture change. His track record includes successful implementations across diverse sectors including mining, healthcare, financial services, logistics, energy, automative, hospitality industries and government agencies, to name just a few.

Future Vision and Industry Evolution

Steven continues to shape the evolution of Australian workplace culture through his leadership of Diversity Australia and his broader industry contributions. His vision extends beyond traditional DE&I frameworks to encompass comprehensive approaches to psychological safety, inclusive leadership, and cultural transformation that drive measurable business outcomes.

His ongoing research and development initiatives focus on emerging workplace trends including intergenerational collaboration, remote work inclusion, and the integration of artificial intelligence with human-centred management approaches. These forward-thinking perspectives position both Steven and his clients at the forefront of workplace evolution.

Through his unique combination of academic excellence, professional certifications, entrepreneurial success, and proven industry leadership, Steven Asnicar represents the gold standard for DE&I expertise in Australia. His work continues to influence organisational practices across sectors, establishing new benchmarks for inclusive leadership and demonstrating the compelling business case for strategic investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Key Credentials & Affiliations:

• Masters of International Business (Human Capital Management) – Bond University
• Graduate Certificate of Corporate Management – Deakin University
• Bachelor of Business – University of Queensland
• Graduate – Global Institute of Directors
• Qualified RABQSA Auditor – Exemplar Global
• Former Committee Member – Australian Logistics Council
• Member – APSCo Australia
• Group Managing Director – Diversity Australia

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