At the helm is Michael Mai, a young, smart, and savvy businessman. At the age of 26, he founded Innovative Construction and Development (ICD Property), and is already making a splash in the Melbourne property development market. Michael is Managing Director of the company, and his team has grown as the company has expanded and taken on an amazing array of projects. Michael spent his early childhood in China but moved to Melbourne for school. He has lived in Melbourne for the past 16 years and felt it was the perfect place to start his company. ”I’ve been in Australia since I was 15, since I started high school in Melbourne,” Michael says. ”Then I went to Melbourne University and graduated with commerce and engineering degrees, but shortly after that in 2008 we were all hit by the financial crisis.”
Michael had no formal experience in the property sector, but entrepreneurship is in his blood. His father, Boliang Mai, is a successful businessman in China, and encouraged Michael to take a chance with ICD Property. “My father is the head of the family trust supporting ICD Property,” Michael explains. “He convinced me to start the family business because he is the CEO of a company called CIMC. That was his first job and that was his first company. He wanted me to start my own business. In 2009, I was still very young, only 26, so I had very little experience. But my father and mother encouraged me to listen and learn.”