The legend of Michael Malone over in Perth goes something like this – he's an extraordinary entrepreneur who built iiNet from his garage during the grunge rock era into one of Australia's biggest internet service providers, worth $1.4 billion.
As iiNet's managing director, he made tens of millions of dollars as the upstart disrupter took on Telstra and Optus and even became the face of internet freedom, piloting the ISP's defence in a copyright case brought by the film and TV industry that went all the way to the High Court – where he won.
Then, suddenly, in March 2014, he quit the company he co-founded. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he said he'd thrown in the towel three weeks into a sabbatical in South America.
"I've got to say I've got the long dark road in front of me right now," he explained. "It is difficult to think of your next role while you're in your current role... so for now I'm hoping to continue with the holidays for the next couple of months at least and I'm hoping inspiration will arise during that period."
The long-time Perthonality relocated to NSW and bought a grand country house, Aberdeen, in the Southern Highlands for $4.7 million.
He married his second wife, Monika Kwiatkowski, in an April 2015 ceremony at a small stone church 20 minutes from Aberdeen. The reception was held at two-hat restaurant Biota Dining in nearby Bowral (both church and restaurant have since closed). The wedding photos feature the bride on a horse.
The change extended to his work life. Malone could not replicate his success at iiNet – what was normal there, he told The Interview Australia, was not normal elsewhere. In other words, there was no second coming as a successful founder. Instead, his approach was to take any "cup of coffee" offered and talk to anyone interested. He ended up with a clutch of directorships and investments.
Rampart has obtained a cache of emails and documents covering this second phase of Malone's professional life, which reveal how he managed the transition.
They provide a look inside the directors' club at the top of corporate Australia and paint a picture of a man juggling conflicts of interest and, occasionally, under pressure from friends or colleagues to provide favours or advice. Which he did.
They cover Malone's appointment to the board of NBNCo, the federal government-owned company that operates the national broadband network.
NBNCo was conceived by the Rudd government and is the monopoly provider of wholesale broadband internet in Australia. It was an often controversial and costly infrastructure project during its decade-long construction phase but is now broadly accepted as an important part of Australia's telecommunications infrastructure.
Rampart can also reveal an investigation is underway inside NBNCo into the circumstances of Malone's appointment to the board. NBNCo has also referred the issue to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Open for business
After leaving iiNet, Malone's listed investments were, in the main, concentrated in media, technology and communication. They included Kerry Stokes' Seven West Media, communications satellite business Speedcast International, internet infrastructure company Superloop and internet connectivity group Megaport. He also chaired the unlisted IT security company he founded, Diamond Cyber.
