Mike Cannon-Brookes Explained
Michael Cannon-Brookes (born 17 November 1979) is an Australian businessman who is the co-founder and co-CEO of software company Atlassian.
Since 2018, he has been involved in the Australia-Asia Power Link, a huge electricity infrastructure project to be developed in the Northern Territory by Sun Cable in a collaboration with Twiggy Forrest.
Early life and education
Michael Cannon-Brookes was born on 17 November 1979,[1] [2] the son of a global banking executive, also named Mike, and his wife, Helen.[3] He attended Cranbrook School in Sydney,[4] and graduated from the University of New South Wales[5] with a bachelor's degree in information systems on a UNSW co-op scholarship.[6] [7]
Career
Before founding Atlassian, Cannon-Brookes co-founded an internet bookmark management tool called The Bookmark Box with his university classmate Niki Scevak. The Bookmark Box was sold to Blink.com in 2000.[8]
Cannon-Brookes co-founded Atlassian, a collaboration software company, of which he is co-CEO, with Scott Farquhar. The pair started the company in 2002, shortly after graduating from university, funding it with credit cards.[9] They have said they founded Atlassian with the aim of earning the then-typical graduate starting salary of 48,000 at the big corporations without having to work for someone else.[10] [11]
Their first major Atlassian product was Jira, an issue- and project-tracking software. They decided to forgo the expense of hiring sales people, and instead spent their time and money on building a good product and selling it at a more affordable price via the Atlassian website.[12] As of 2016, the company still did not have a traditional sales force, investing instead in research and development.[13]
In 2005, they opened an office in New York, where most of their clients were.[12] Later in 2005 they moved the U.S. office to San Francisco,[14] which had a much larger pool of relevant technical talent.[12]
Their first external funding for Atlassian was a US$60 million round from Accel in 2010.[15] In 2014, they redomiciled the company to the UK, in advance of an initial public offering (IPO).[16]
Atlassian made its debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange in December 2015,[17] with a market capitalisation of $4.37 billion.[18] The IPO made Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar Australia's first tech startup billionaires and household names in Australia.[19] [20] [21]
Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar redomiciled Atlassian to the United States in 2022.[16]
Other activities
Climate activism
Cannon-Brookes is a major investor in green projects.[22]
In October 2021, Cannon-Brookes pledged to donate and invest $1.5 billion on climate projects by 2030 to reinforce the COP26 goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.[23]
Grok Ventures
Cannon-Brookes started Grok Ventures in 2016 as a private investing vehicle. In February 2024, it was announced that Grok Ventures had appointed Tan Kueh as CEO, and that the organisation was accepting third party capital to drive a bigger impact on climate change.[24]
Grok Ventures is focused on climate tech, venture and infrastructure, and lighthouse investments.
In March 2022, Cannon-Brookes (through Grok Ventures) and billionaire Andrew Forrest invested in the Sun Cable project, to build a solar and battery farm 12,000 hectares (120 km2) in size at Powell Creek, Northern Territory, and a power-cable to link it to Singapore (via Indonesia) leaving Australia at Murrumujuk beach. In January 2023, Sun Cable went into administration owing to disagreements between Cannon-Brookes and Forrest, and in May 2023, Grok Ventures outbid Forrest and others to buy the liquidated company.[25] [26]
In 2023, Grok Ventures purchased a majority stake in Australian publicly listed energy company AGL, Australia’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, in a move to force the company to de-carbonise more quickly.
Sports
In December 2020, Cannon-Brookes bought a minority stake in NBA team Utah Jazz, along with Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith.
In November 2021, Cannon-Brookes bought a one-third share of Blackcourt League Investments. Blackcourt owns 75% of the Australian Rugby League team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[27] [28]
Other
Cannon-Brookes is an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales' School of Computer Science and Engineering.[29]
In September 2020, it was revealed that Cannon-Brookes was listed on a Chinese Government "Overseas Key Individuals Database" of prominent international individuals of interest for China.
Cannon-Brookes is Chairman of Blackbird Ventures, a venture capital firm.[30]
Personal life
Cannon-Brookes married American fashion designer Annie Todd in 2010, and they have four children together.[31] [32] The couple first met at a Qantas lounge while flying from Sydney to San Francisco.[33] Cannon-Brookes and Todd lived in Sydney's eastern suburbs in . In 2018 they bought Fairwater, Australia's most expensive house for approximately 100 million, next door to Scott Farquhar's 71 million Point Piper harbourside mansion, Elaine. Cannon-Brookes also acquired the 1923-built heritage residence Verona, designed by architect Leslie Wilkinson and located in Double Bay, for 17 million.[34] The house previously belonged to New Zealand philanthropist Pat Goodman. Prior to that, in 2016, Cannon-Brookes had bought the 7.05 million SeaDragon house, built in 1936, also designed by Wilkinson and updated by architect Luigi Rosselli.[35] His Centennial Park home sold for 16.5 million.[36] In 2019 he purchased a house near Fairwater for 12 million.[37] Cannon-Brookes separated from his wife Annie in July 2023.[31]
Recognition
Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar were recognised as Ernst & Young's 2006 Australian Entrepreneur of the Year.[38] He is a member of The Forum of Young Global Leaders.
Net worth
In 2016, his net worth was estimated by Forbes on the list of Australia's 50 Richest people as 1.69 billion; by BRW Rich 200 as 2.00 billion; and by the Sunday Times Rich List as 906 million.[39], the Australian Financial Review estimated his net worth was 19.01 billion. Meanwhile, in 2021, his net worth was assessed at 13.7 billion by Forbes and at 11.2 billion by Bloomberg.
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See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Santoreneos . Anastasia . 26 November 2020 . He's worth $18.4 billion - but he won't qualify for this rich list anymore . . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120135830/https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/mike-cannon-brookes-rich-list-225544190.html . 20 January 2021 . live.
- News: WA's best and brightest young guns top rich list . 26 November 2020 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423025947/https://thewest.com.au/business/rich-list/was-best-and-brightest-young-guns-top-rich-list-ng-b881732607z . 23 April 2024 . live.
- News: Michael Cannon-Brookes snr: How I raised a son who became Atlassian billionaire . . Australia . Gray, Joanne . 9 June 2016 . 9 June 2016 . 9 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160609144459/http://www.afr.com/brand/boss/michael-cannonbrookes-snr-how-i-raised-my-son-to-be-successful-20160515-govjdi . live .
- https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/school-life/cranbrook-school-elite-sydney-institution-eyes-up-major-change/news-story/5839681b318ad52a9faf45b59049e434 Cranbrook School: Elite Sydney institution eyes up major change
- News: Kahn . Brian . April 16, 2024 . Shoko Oda, David Stringer, Stephen Stapczynski, and Yue Qiu contributed . A Software Billionaire Is Betting Big on a Wild Climate Fix . April 22, 2024 . Bloomberg News.
- Web site: Mike Cannon-Brookes: Co-founder & CEO . . 9 June 2016 . 31 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160531232529/https://www.atlassian.com/company/people . live .
- Web site: Christian . Natasha . Aidone . David . 2 August 2019 . The Australian universities most likely to make you a multi-millionaire . . https://archive.today/20240423031157/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/work/revealed-the-australian-universities-most-likely-to-make-you-a-multimillionaire/news-story/0e69f8027e6073b91273754f684f967f . 23 April 2024 . live . subscription.
- Web site: Fitzsimmons . Caitlin . 24 October 2023 . How Atlassian’s Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes became software titans . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181106103211/https://www.smh.com.au/technology/how-atlassians-scott-farquhar-and-mike-cannonbrookes-became-software-titans-20140725-zwo3x.html . 6 November 2018 . The Sydney Morning Herald.
- Web site: Mike Cannon-Brookes. 2021-05-28. Forbes. en. 23 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190723010719/https://www.forbes.com/profile/mike-cannon-brookes/. live.
- News: Accidental billionaires: why Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are so admired in the start-up industry . Fitzsimmons, Caitlin . 12 April 2014 . . Australian . 9 June 2016 . 6 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160606123306/http://www.afr.com/leadership/accidental-billionaires-why-atlassians-mike-cannonbrookes-and-scott-farquhar-are-so-admired-in-the-startup-industry-20140411-jyrb6 . live .
- News: The Cannon-Brookes: balancing life as accidental billionaires . . Kitney, Damon . 27 February 2016 . 9 June 2016 . 7 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231107015211/https://insight.adsrvr.org/track/up?adv=vrges6n&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fsubscribe%2Fnews%2F1%2F%3FsourceCode%3DTAWEB_WRE170_a%26dest%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%252Fbusiness%252Fcompanies%252Fthe-cannonbrookes-balancing-life-as-accidental-billionaires%252Fnews-story%252F34e8a6f144b9072b36073a3caf87a5fb%26memtype%3Danonymous%26mode%3Dpremium%26v21%3DGROUPB-Segment-1-NOSCORE%26V21spcbehaviour%3Dappend&upid=rjdl4pv&upv=1.1.0 . live .
- News: Powell . Rose . Startup War Story: Atlassian ignored bad advice, avoided sales staff and grew fast . 4 April 2024 . . 10 August 2015 . 4 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240404061944/https://www.afr.com/technology/startup-war-story-atlassian-ignored-bad-advice-avoided-sales-staff-and-grew-fast-20150810-giv9s0 . live .
- News: McDuling . John . The secret to Atlassian's success . 4 April 2024 . . 8 August 2016 . 4 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240404064507/https://www.afr.com/technology/the-secret-to-atlassians-success-20160805-gqm0kq . live .
- Web site: McGahan . Donna . Atlassian Support – The Legend Continues . Atlassian.com . 5 April 2024 . 10 March 2009 . 5 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240405040407/https://www.atlassian.com/blog/it-teams/atlassian_support_the_legend_continues . live .
- News: Yolanda Redrup . Yolanda Redrup . Atlassian's Scott Farquhar tells founders not to bootstrap . 5 April 2024 . . 6 May 2021 . 5 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240405033125/https://www.afr.com/technology/atlassian-s-scott-farquhar-tells-founders-not-to-bootstrap-20210506-p57ph1 . live .
- Web site: Conchie . Charlie . Software giant Atlassian leaves UK in setback for the City's tech hopes . . 13 April 2024 . 10 July 2022 . 28 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231228000110/https://www.cityam.com/software-giant-atlassian-leaves-uk-in-setback-for-the-citys-tech-hopes/ . live .
- Web site: Primack . Dan . And the Price of the Last Big Tech IPO of 2015 Is... . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20151211200857/http://fortune.com/2015/12/09/atlassian-ipo-price/ . 11 December 2015.
- Web site: And the Price of the Last Big Tech IPO of 2015 Is... . 17 December 2018 . Fortune . 11 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151211200857/http://fortune.com/2015/12/09/atlassian-ipo-price/ . live .
- News: Moses . Asher . 15 July 2010 . From Uni dropouts to software magnates . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131204162406/http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/from-uni-dropouts-to-software-magnates-20100715-10bsm.html . 4 December 2013.
- Finley . Klint . Atlassian Challenges GitHub to a Fork Fight . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130522040906/http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/12/atlassian-stash . 22 May 2013 . 15 May 2013.
- News: Bowles . Nellie . 13 February 2019 . The Strange Experience of Being Australia's First Tech Billionaires . en-US . The New York Times . 18 September 2020 . 0362-4331 . 18 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018124548/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/technology/atlassian-cannon-brookes-farquhar.html . live .
- Gunia . Amy . 7 October 2021 . Tech Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes on How Australia Could Become a Renewable Energy Superpower . . https://web.archive.org/web/20211007122458/https://time.com/6104003/mike-cannon-brookes-australia-renewable-energy/ . 7 October 2021 . live.
- Web site: O'Malley . Nick . 21 October 2021 . Mike Cannon-Brookes pledges $1.5b to climate initiatives ahead of COP26 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423071952/https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/mike-cannon-brookes-pledges-1-5b-to-climate-initiatives-ahead-of-cop26-20211020-p591p5.html/ . 23 April 2024 . live.
- Web site: Packham . Colin . 9 February 2024 . Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes goes all-in on climate investments . The Australian.
- News: 27 May 2023 . Sun Cable: Mike Cannon-Brookes wins control of mega solar project after fall-out with Andrew Forrest . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230527012120/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-26/sun-cable-mike-cannon-bookes-andrew-forrest-decision/102396072 . 27 May 2023 . 27 May 2023 . ABC News AU.
- Web site: Terzon . Emilia . 5 May 2023 . Sun Cable: Why Australia's two richest men are battling to control an unbuilt solar farm . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230505013059/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-04/sun-cable-solar-andrew-twiggy-forrest-cannon-brookes-elliott/102295152 . 5 May 2023 . 5 May 2023 . ABC News (Australia).
- Web site: 15 Nov 2021 . Mike Cannon-Brookes purchases one-third share of Blackcourt League Investments . South Sydney Rabbitohs.
- Web site: Malone . Ursula . 21 October 2021 . Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes buys stake in South Sydney Rabbitohs . . https://web.archive.org/web/20211115005204/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-15/mike-cannon-brookes-buys-rabbitohs-share/100620432 . 15 November 2021 . live.
- Web site: Gilmore . Heath . 9 October 2014 . UNSW taps Ori Allon, Mike Cannon-Brookes to nurture start-up culture . . https://web.archive.org/web/20191020001713/https://www.smh.com.au/technology/unsw-taps-ori-allon-mike-cannonbrookes-to-nurture-startup-culture-20140409-zqslj.html . 20 October 2019 . live.
- Web site: Waters . Cara . 4 August 2020 . Blackbird raises $500m fund, taps Cannon-Brookes to drive expansion . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200806154430/https://www.smh.com.au/business/small-business/blackbird-raises-500m-fund-taps-cannon-brookes-to-drive-expansion-20200804-p55ia5.html . 6 August 2020 . Reuters.
- News: Riordan . Primrose . Bailey . Michael . Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes faces asset split after separation . 2 April 2024 . Australian Financial Review . 24 July 2023 . 2 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240402040927/https://www.afr.com/wealth/people/atlassian-s-mike-cannon-brookes-faces-asset-split-after-separation-20230723-p5dqjh . live .
- Web site: Imposter Syndrome as an Asset. Atlassian blog. 1 September 2017. 1 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170901110702/https://www.atlassian.com/blog/inside-atlassian/impostor-syndrome-as-an-asset. live.
- News: Riordan . Primrose . 2023-07-21 . Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes to separate . . 24 July 2023 . 24 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230724050827/https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/mike-and-annie-cannon-brookes-to-separate-20230721-p5dqd1 . live .
- Web site: Mike Cannon-Brookes paid $17m for Double Bay house day after he bought $100m Fairwater estate. Macken. Lucy. 2018-09-27. Domain. en-AU. 2019-05-05. 5 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190505223708/https://www.domain.com.au/news/day-mike-cannon-brookes-paid-100m-fairwater-estate-snapped-17m-double-bay-house-767596/. live.
- Web site: Techie Mike Cannon-Brookes proves a sucker for fine real estate, twice. Macken. Lucy. 2017-02-09. Domain. en-AU. 2019-05-05. 5 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190505223717/https://www.domain.com.au/news/techie-mike-cannonbrookes-proves-a-sucker-for-fine-real-estate-twice-20170210-gu8x4q/. live.
- Web site: Australia's most expensive house sells for $100m . . OneRoof . September 28, 2018 . September 29, 2018 . 29 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180929001600/https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/australias-most-expensive-house-sells-for-100m-35476 . live .
- Web site: Mike Cannon-Brookes buys house next door to Fairwater for $12m. Macken. Lucy. 2019-04-26. Domain. en-AU. 2019-05-05. 5 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190505223705/https://www.domain.com.au/news/mike-cannon-brookes-buys-house-next-door-to-fairwater-for-12m-830621/. live.
- Web site: The 2006 Australian Entrepreneur Of The Year . . 29 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061231164421/https://www.ey.com/GLOBAL/content.nsf/Australia/EOY_-_2006_Australian_Entrepreneur_Of_The_Year . 31 December 2006.
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