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Mike Cannon-Brookes, born in Sydney on November 17, 1979, is an Australian technology pioneer and billionaire entrepreneur. He co-founded Atlassian, turning it into a global leader in software innovation. Outside the tech industry, he is heavily involved in renewable energy and sustainability initiatives. With his forward-thinking approach and passion for creating positive change, he continues to influence various industries and communities, leaving a lasting impact on technology, clean energy, and philanthropy around the world.
Mike grew up in Sydney, where he developed a passion for technology from an early age. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook School, which helped nurture his interests in computing and problem-solving. Later, he earned a combined Arts and Science degree in Information Systems from the University of New South Wales. This solid academic foundation set the stage for his future ventures, allowing him to blend creativity and technology in his remarkable entrepreneurial journey.
Mike Cannon-Brookes began his entrepreneurial journey in 2002 when he co-founded Atlassian with Scott Farquhar. What started as a small startup has now grown into a global leader in team collaboration software. In addition to driving Atlassian's ongoing growth, Mike has diversified his investments into clean energy and professional sports, including a minority stake in the NBA's Utah Jazz. He also gives back to the academic community as an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales, where he mentors and inspires future tech leaders.
Atlassian’s AI initiatives revolutionize teamwork by embedding intelligent automation and insights across service management, workflows, and collaboration tools, empowering teams to work smarter, innovate faster, and deliver exceptional results effortlessly.
AI in Service Management: Atlassian enhances Jira Service Management with AI-powered virtual agents, smart triage, and sentiment analysis, automating workflows to accelerate support resolution and elevate service experiences across teams and platforms.
Smarter Workflows: Atlassian Intelligence integrates AI-driven machine learning and predictive analytics into Jira and Confluence, automating routine tasks and delivering personalized insights that streamline workflows and improve team collaboration.
AI Team: By embedding AI in Jira, Confluence, and beyond, Atlassian Intelligence combines human creativity with automation to unlock productivity gains, enabling teams to collaborate more effectively and innovate faster.
AI-Led Transformation: Atlassian’s AI initiative automates workflows and fosters collaboration using AI-powered tools like Rovo and virtual agents, helping organizations boost efficiency and accelerate innovation in their day-to-day work.
Predictive Intelligence: Atlassian AI leverages smart automation and context-aware assistance to simplify complex workflows, allowing teams to focus on strategic priorities while routine tasks are handled efficiently by AI.
OpenAI and Atlassian: Integrating proprietary AI and OpenAI technologies, Atlassian Intelligence automates workflows and provides deep, context-rich insights across multiple tools, driving enhanced productivity and smarter decision-making.
IT Service Management: Atlassian Intelligence transforms ITSM by combining AI automation with predictive insights to streamline issue resolution, optimize resource allocation, and deliver faster, more reliable service experiences.
AI Project Management: Atlassian Intelligence empowers project teams by automating routine tasks, enabling natural language commands, and providing intelligent insights that help focus efforts on impactful, goal-driven work.
Integrating Generative AI: Atlassian Intelligence leverages generative AI alongside virtual agents and smart search to automate repetitive tasks, enhance productivity, and unlock insights, propelling teams toward faster innovation and improved results.
AI Confluence: Atlassian Intelligence enhances Confluence by automating content creation, task automation, and instant summarization, helping teams write, edit, and organize information effortlessly to accelerate teamwork success.
Mike turned his passion for technology into a multi-billion-dollar empire. As Atlassian soared past a $50 billion market cap, his personal fortune grew to over $13 billion, placing him among the world’s wealthiest innovators. Beyond tech, he backed bold energy projects like Sun Cable and took a stake in AGL. His financial influence stretches from Silicon Valley to Australian real estate and even the NBA, creating a dynamic, global legacy.
Mike Cannon-Brookes’s business accomplishments are quite remarkable. Atlassian reached a market capitalization of more than $50 billion, changing the way team collaboration tools were used all around the globe and in all markets. He received numerous awards for his leadership, including Australian IT Professional of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year.
Mike has not only revolutionized the technology industry, but he has also promoted renewable energy through initiatives such as Sun Cable and maintaining a significant stake in AGL. In managing all these investments, as well as several others, he is recognized as a real innovator across all industries, with an estimated personal wealth of $19.01 billion.
Mike Cannon-Brookes has faced several controversies, including legal action over confidential data, a private jet trip as a high-profile climate activist, and criticism of AGL Energy, a company in which he holds a significant investment.
Legal Showdown: Mike engaged in a lengthy fight to prevent executive Kevin Chiu from disclosing confidential data externally. Although the external confidentiality leaks and Cannon-Brookes' personal issues were aside, this matter highlighted very serious issues between Cannon-Brookes and Chiu, as discussions were raised around corporate secrecy, trust, and loyalty in a billion-dollar business.
Private Jet Criticism: Mike Cannon-Brookes purchased a private jet with a hefty $75 million price tag and sponsored Formula 1, yet he is a climate activist, and public scrutiny followed. In short, there were accusations of hypocrisy. Mike defended the purchase by saying it was in the context of a secure and practical business need, particularly with the use of carbon offsets.
Legal Battle: Mike was successful in obtaining a Supreme Court order to access the devices owned by former employee, Kevin Chiu, but the battle raised a range of valuable discussion on data privacy, corporate governance, and employee loyalty in a major legal dispute.
Criticism of AGL Energy: Mike Cannon-Brookes described AGL Energy as "one of the most toxic companies in Australia". He described how quickly they are progressing towards climate targets, and condemned them publicly. As a stakeholder, he has pushed AGL to phase out coal power quickly and decarbonise the business profitably.
