Ganwyd Lawrence yng Nghaerdydd ac mae'n briod gyda pedwar o blant. Ymunodd â'r gwasanaeth sifil yn 1968 a chafodd amrywiol swyddi o fewn y Swyddfa Gymreig, gan gynnwys secondiad i Gorfforaeth Datblygu Bae Caerdydd ar ddechrau'r 1990au fel Cynorthwyydd i'r Prif Weithredwr. Yn dilyn y penodiad hwnnw bu Lawrence yn bennaeth is-adran y Swyddfa Gymreig o gyrff lled braich wedi'u noddi gan gynnwys Awdurdod Datblygu Cymru. Daeth yn bennaeth Ysgrifenyddiaeth y Cabinet ac Adran y Prif Weinidog yn 1998 ac roedd yn y swydd honno tan iddo ymddeol yn 2010.  Derbyniodd Lawrence y teitl 'Companion of the Bath'  yn 2012.  Mae wedi gwasanaethu fel Cadeirydd dros dro Chwaraeon Cymru ers Chwefror 2017.   Mae chwaraeon wedi bod yn rhan bwysig o fywyd Lawrence, ac ers ymuno â Chwaraeon Cymru dros flwyddyn yn ôl, mae wedi gweld yr effaith uniongyrchol a'r manteision ehangach a gaiff chwaraeon ar iechyd corfforol ar draws maes chwaraeon yng Nghymru.
Lawrence was born and raised in Cardiff and is married with four children. He joined the civil service in 1968 and had various roles within the Welsh Office, including a secondment to Cardiff Bay Development Corporation in the early 1990s as Assistant to the Chief Executive. Following that appointment Lawrence headed the Welsh Office division of sponsored arms-length bodies including the Welsh Development Agency. He became head of the Cabinet Secretariat and First Minister’s Department in 1998 and held that post until his retirement in 2010.  Lawrence was awarded the Companion of the Bath in 2012.  He has served as Interim Chair of Sport Wales since February 2017.   Sport has always been an important part of Lawrence’s life, and since joining Sport Wales over year ago he has seen the direct impact physical health and the wider benefits of sport can have across Wales’ diverse sporting landscape.