Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie’s private investment vehicle, Grok Ventures, would take a minority equity stake in Melior, having been a cornerstone investor in the Australian Impact fund for over a year.
Melior was launched in 2018 and its Australian Impact fund was launched in July 2019 and currently had $91 million in assets under management. The firm focused heavily on impact and ESG around three key UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of climate action, gender equality and reduced inequality and engaged in 200 advocacy engagements around FY21.
Cannon-Brookes said the decision to make additional support for Melior was fuelled by desire to catalyse impact investing in Australia.
“We all have a responsibility to do better. Investors need to consider their impact on the world, which is something Melior is tapping into. It’s this kind of epic leadership that drives real change across business,” he said.
Melior chief executive, Lucy Steed, said: “Mike, Annie and the Grok team share our view that public companies play a critical role in building a better, more sustainable future given their scale. Raising ESG ambition in corporate Australia is vital to solving the problems we face, including helping Australia achieve its commitments to the UN SDGs by 2030”.
Atlassian was one of Australia’s top technology firms, listed on the NASDAQ, and its share price had risen 104% over one year to 7 October, 2021.
