iiNet announces the appointment of two new directors following Michael Malone’s resignation

iiNet has announced the appointment of two internet veterans to its board of directors, following the resignation of former chief executive and cofounder Michael Malone late last month.

The first is former Optus chief financial officer Patrick O’Sullivan, who is currently serving as a non-executive director at both CarSales and Little Company of Mary Healthcare.

He is also a chairman of the online medical directory site Healthengine, which saw SevenWest Media and iiNet rival Telstra invest $10.4 million in May of last year.

According to a transcript published by PulseIT, Telstra’s head of health Shane Solomon lauded the Healthengine investment during the company’s national investor day in Sydney last year.

“Our strategy is to build these capabilities through a combination of investments and partnerships with successful eHealth companies… We’ve set the wheels in motion with HealthEngine, the Australian market leader in online health appointment bookings,” Solomon said.

O’Sullivan has also served as the chief financial officer Goodman Fielder and as the chief operating officer and finance director of Nine Entertainment Co.

The company is also adding Cirrus Media Australia and Trade Me director Paul McCarney, who is also the chairman of Search Academy.

Before taking his current role, McCarney co-founded Decide Interactive , which he sold to Real Media in 2004, and digital marketing company Life Event Media, which he sold to Sensis in 2011.

According to filings lodged with the ASX, required under section 205G of the Corporations Act, neither O’Sullivan nor McCarney is currently an iiNet shareholder.

Aside from Malone, Internode founder Simon Hackett and former AAPT chief executive Paul Broad have left the company in recent months.

In a statement to investors, iiNet chairman Michael Smith says the appointments

“These new appointments bring a great mix of experience and talent to the iiNet Board.”

“Both Pat and Paul have a strong background in the online and technology space and we’re confident that they will bring some exciting new thinking as we continue to grow the business.”