It could be the City’s most famous garage, a location in Padbury where ISP iiNet got its start and put Michael Malone on the global stage.
The Australian technology entrepreneur and business executive founded the company in 1993 alongside university friend Michael O’Reilly. During the early days, the business operated out of Malone’s parents’ garage. Two decades later and the publicly listed business was worth over a billion dollars.
Malone grew the company to become the second largest ISP (Internet Service Provider) in Australia and led the company as chief executive until 2014. He was a pioneer of dial-up access back in 1993 before the internet became mainstream and iiNet led the move to broadband from 2000. From 1996 to 2002, he served as the President of the West Australian Internet Association. Malone has served on the boards of Seven West Media, SpeedCast, Scitech, Superloop and Dreamscape Limited, and is a current board member at NBN. He was the founder and chairman of a Perth-based cyber security company Diamond Cyber.
Malone was a founder and Deputy Chairman of Autism West. Over the years he has been an advocate for internet consumer rights. Among his many awards are the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, National Customer Service CEO of the Year and Business News 40 Under 40 Outstanding Business Leader.