Philip Wollen

Philip Wollen OAM (born 1950) is an Australian philanthropist. He is a former Vice-President of Citibank and was also General Manager at Citicorp. Wollen became a vegan following his departure from Citibank and is a member of the animal rights movement. He conducts intervention programs to rescue abused animals and funds outreach programs that promote animal welfare and abstinence. At age 34, Australian Business Magazine named him in the "Brightest and Best" top 40 headhunted executives in Australia. In 2005 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia and in 2007 he won the Australian of the Year (Victoria) award. Wollen went to school at the Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore. He delivered The General Thimayya Memorial Lecture Bangalore, India in 2008. He lives with his wife Trix in Melbourne, Victoria.

Winsome Constance Kindness

Wollen's main project, Winsome Constance Kindness, is a global initiative whose mission statement is "to promote kindness towards all other living beings and enshrine it as a recognisable trait in the Australian character and culture". The initiative emphasises ethics, compassion and co-operation, and opposes cruelty to humans and non-human animals. In 2006 it had initiatives in 34 countries and is growing.

Wollen awards the annual Kindness Gold Medal and $25,000 Cash Prize to people who have devoted their lives in the service of others. Past recipients include Sir David Attenborough, UK; Dr Jane Goodall UK; Smt Maneka Gandhi, India; Captain Paul Watson, USA; Professor Dr Reverend Andrew Linzey (Oxford); Dr Jill Robinson (China); Dr Christine Townend (Australia); Professor Dr T Colin Campbell (Cornell); Captain Peter Hammarstedt (Sweden); Sri Pradeep Nath (India); Mr Christopher DeRose, USA; Mr Damien Mander, Zimbabwe; and many others.

Kindness House

"Kindness House" is one of Wollen's more unusual innovations, an incubator for growing NGOs. Kindness House provides office facilities with modern technology, enabling those within the building to work more efficiently. It is located in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy.