Jump to content

Mike Cannon-Brookes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mike Cannon-Brookes
Cannon-Brookes in 2018
BornMichael Cannon-Brookes
(1979-11-17) 17 November 1979 (age 45)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
NationalityAustralian
EducationCranbrook School
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
OccupationCEO of Atlassian
Employer
Known forCo-founding Atlassian
Board member ofAtlassian
Spouse(s)
Annie Todd
​
​
(m. 2010; sep. 2023)​
Children4
Awards
Websiteatlassian.com

Michael Cannon-Brookes (born 17 November 1979) is an Australian businessman who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of the 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 A$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.[12] 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] Since September 2024, Cannon-Brookes is the sole CEO of the company after Farquhar stepped down as co-CEO.[22][23]

Other activities

[edit]

Cannon-Brookes is a major investor in green projects.[24] In October 2021, he 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.[25]

Cannon-Brookes is an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales' School of Computer Science and Engineering.[26] He is also the chairman of Blackbird Ventures, a venture capital firm.[27]

In September 2020, it was revealed that Cannon-Brookes was among 35,000 Australians on a Chinese Government "Overseas Key Individuals Database" of prominent international individuals of interest for China.[28][29]

In March 2022, Cannon-Brookes 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.[30][31]

In 2023, Cannon-Brookes 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.[citation needed]

Sports

[edit]

In December 2020, Cannon-Brookes bought a minority stake in NBA team Utah Jazz, along with Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith.[32]

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.[33][34]

Personal life

[edit]

Cannon-Brookes married American fashion designer Annie Todd in 2010, and they have four children together.[35][36] The couple first met at a Qantas lounge while flying from Sydney to San Francisco.[37] Cannon-Brookes and Todd lived in Sydney's eastern suburbs in Centennial Park.[11] In 2018 they bought Fairwater, Australia's most expensive house for approximately A$100 million, next door to Scott Farquhar's A$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 A$17 million.[38] The house previously belonged to New Zealand philanthropist Pat Goodman. Prior to that, in 2016, Cannon-Brookes had bought the A$7.05 million SeaDragon house, built in 1936, also designed by Wilkinson and updated by architect Luigi Rosselli.[39] His Centennial Park home sold for A$16.5 million.[40] In 2019 he purchased a house near Fairwater for A$12 million.[41] Cannon-Brookes separated from his wife Annie in July 2023.[35]

Recognition

[edit]

Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar were recognised as Ernst & Young's 2006 Australian Entrepreneur of the Year.[42] He is a member of The Forum of Young Global Leaders.[6] In 2023, he was recognized as one of the "Time100 climate person" [43]

Net worth

[edit]

In 2016, his net worth was estimated by Forbes on the list of Australia's 50 Richest people as US$1.69 billion;[44] by BRW Rich 200 as A$2.00 billion;[45] and by the Sunday Times Rich List as £906 million.[46] As of May 2023, the Australian Financial Review estimated his net worth was A$19.01 billion.[47] Meanwhile, in 2021, his net worth was assessed at US$13.7 billion by Forbes and at US$11.2 billion by Bloomberg.[48]

Year BRW
Rich 200 		Forbes
Australia's 50 Richest 		Sunday Times
Rich List
Rank Net worth (A$) Rank Net worth (US$) Rank Net worth (£)
2013[49][50] 190 Increase $0.25 billion Increase n/a not listed
2014[51][52] 35 Increase $1.07 billion Increase n/a not listed
2015[53][54] 42 Decrease $1.14 billion Increase 25 Increase $1.10 billion Increase
2016[45][44][46] 18 Increase $2.00 billion Increase 14 Increase $1.69 billion Increase £906 million Increase
2017[55][56] 17 Increase $2.51 billion Increase 10 Increase $3.40 billion Increase
2018[57] 12 Increase $5.16 billion Increase 5 Increase
2019[58][59][60] 6 Increase $9.63 billion Increase 5 Steady $6.40 billion Increase
2020[61] 5 Increase $16.93 billion Increase
2021[62][48] 3 Increase $20.18 billion Increase $13.70 billion Increase
2022 3 Steady $27.80 billion Increase
2023[47] 6 Decrease $19.01 billion Decrease
Legend
Icon Description
Steady Has not changed from the previous year
Increase Has increased from the previous year
Decrease Has decreased from the previous year

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Santoreneos, Anastasia (26 November 2020). "He's worth $18.4 billion - but he won't qualify for this rich list anymore". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021.
  2. ^ "WA's best and brightest young guns top rich list". The West Australian. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024.
  3. ^ Gray, Joanne (9 June 2016). "Michael Cannon-Brookes snr: How I raised a son who became Atlassian billionaire". Australian Financial Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. ^ Cranbrook School: Elite Sydney institution eyes up major change Archived 6 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine News.com.au
  5. ^ Kahn, Brian (16 April 2024). "A Software Billionaire Is Betting Big on a Wild Climate Fix". Bloomberg News. Shoko Oda, David Stringer, Stephen Stapczynski, and Yue Qiu contributed. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Mike Cannon-Brookes: Co-founder & CEO". Atlassian. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  7. ^ Christian, Natasha; Aidone, David (2 August 2019). "The Australian universities most likely to make you a multi-millionaire". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024.
  8. ^ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (24 October 2023). "How Atlassian's Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes became software titans". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Mike Cannon-Brookes". Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  10. ^ Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (12 April 2014). "Accidental billionaires: why Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are so admired in the start-up industry". Australian Financial Review. Australian. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  11. ^ a b Kitney, Damon (27 February 2016). "The Cannon-Brookes: balancing life as accidental billionaires". The Australian. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d Powell, Rose (10 August 2015). "Startup War Story: Atlassian ignored bad advice, avoided sales staff and grew fast". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  13. ^ McDuling, John (8 August 2016). "The secret to Atlassian's success". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  14. ^ McGahan, Donna (10 March 2009). "Atlassian Support – The Legend Continues". Atlassian.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  15. ^ Yolanda Redrup, Yolanda Redrup (6 May 2021). "Atlassian's Scott Farquhar tells founders not to bootstrap". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  16. ^ a b Conchie, Charlie (10 July 2022). "Software giant Atlassian leaves UK in setback for the City's tech hopes". City A.M. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  17. ^ Primack, Dan. "And the Price of the Last Big Tech IPO of 2015 Is..." Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  18. ^ "And the Price of the Last Big Tech IPO of 2015 Is..." Fortune. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  19. ^ Moses, Asher (15 July 2010). "From Uni dropouts to software magnates". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013.
  20. ^ Finley, Klint. "Atlassian Challenges GitHub to a Fork Fight". Wired. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  21. ^ Bowles, Nellie (13 February 2019). "The Strange Experience of Being Australia's First Tech Billionaires". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  22. ^ Biggs, Tim (26 April 2024). "Scott Farquhar to step down as Atlassian co-CEO". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024.
  23. ^ Bennett, Tess (1 September 2024). "Farquhar's Atlassian era passes without a grand farewell". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024.
  24. ^ Gunia, Amy (7 October 2021). "Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes on how Australia could become a renewable energy superpower". Time. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021.
  25. ^ O'Malley, Nick (21 October 2021). "Mike Cannon-Brookes pledges $1.5b to climate initiatives ahead of COP26". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024.
  26. ^ Gilmore, Heath (9 October 2014). "UNSW taps Ori Allon, Mike Cannon-Brookes to nurture start-up culture". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019.
  27. ^ Waters, Cara (4 August 2020). "Blackbird raises $500m fund, taps Cannon-Brookes to drive expansion". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020.
  28. ^ Grigg, Angus (14 September 2020). "China's social media warfare database lists key Australians". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  29. ^ Grigg, Angus (13 September 2020). "Why Mike Cannon-Brookes is on a Chinese military database". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Sun Cable: Mike Cannon-Brookes wins control of mega solar project after fall-out with Andrew Forrest". ABC News AU. 27 May 2023. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  31. ^ Terzon, Emilia (5 May 2023). "Sun Cable: Why Australia's two richest men are battling to control an unbuilt solar farm". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  32. ^ Konrad, Alex (18 December 2020). "Inside Qualtrics Billionaire And New NBA Owner Ryan Smith's Plans For The Jazz: 'The Front Door To Utah'". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Mike Cannon-Brookes purchases one-third share of Blackcourt League Investments". South Sydney Rabbitohs. 15 November 2021.
  34. ^ Malone, Ursula (21 October 2021). "Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes buys stake in South Sydney Rabbitohs". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 15 November 2021.
  35. ^ a b Riordan, Primrose; Bailey, Michael (24 July 2023). "Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes faces asset split after separation". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Imposter Syndrome as an Asset". Atlassian blog. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  37. ^ Riordan, Primrose (21 July 2023). "Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes to separate". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  38. ^ Macken, Lucy (27 September 2018). "Mike Cannon-Brookes paid $17m for Double Bay house day after he bought $100m Fairwater estate". Domain. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  39. ^ Macken, Lucy (9 February 2017). "Techie Mike Cannon-Brookes proves a sucker for fine real estate, twice". Domain. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  40. ^ "Australia's most expensive house sells for $100m". OneRoof. NZME Publishing Limited. 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  41. ^ Macken, Lucy (26 April 2019). "Mike Cannon-Brookes buys house next door to Fairwater for $12m". Domain. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  42. ^ "The 2006 Australian Entrepreneur Of The Year". Ernst & Young. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  43. ^ "TIME100 Climate 2023: Michael Cannon-Brookes". Time. 16 November 2023.
  44. ^ a b "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  45. ^ a b Stensholt, John, ed. (29 May 2016). "BRW Rich 200 List 2016". Australian Financial Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  46. ^ a b "Rich List 2016". The Sunday Times. No. 44. 24 April 2016.
  47. ^ a b Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  48. ^ a b "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Mike Cannon-Brookes". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  49. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (May 2013). "BRW Rich 200 List 2013". Australian Financial Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  50. ^ "Gina Rinehart tops Forbes' Australian rich list". The Australian. Australian Associated Press. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  51. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (27 June 2014). "BRW Rich 200 List 2014". Australian Financial Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  52. ^ Rollason, Adam (30 January 2014). "Rinehart on top, Palmer down on Forbes rich list". Financial Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  53. ^ "2015 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. March 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  54. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (May 2015). "BRW Rich 200 List 2015". Australian Financial Review. Australia. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  55. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2017). "Financial Review Rich List 2017". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  56. ^ "Australia's Richest 2017: Country's Wealthiest Continue Mining For Dollars". Forbes Asia. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  57. ^ Stensholt, John, ed. (25 May 2018). "2018 AFR Rich List: Who are Australia's richest people?". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  58. ^ Bailey, Michael (30 May 2019). "Australia's 200 richest people revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  59. ^ "2019 Australia's 50 Richest". Forbes Asia. January 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  60. ^ Kruger, Colin (19 March 2019). "Atlassian founders worth $10 billion each after record stock rise". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  61. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (30 October 2020). "The full list: Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  62. ^ Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (27 May 2021). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Cannon-Brookes&oldid=1261682474"