After more than 20 years in black and yellow, Mal McAllan has become synonymous with storage. From a chance encounter with a young Andrew Catsoulis on a Gold Coast construction site, to now leading our ever-expanding Property team, Mal is the epitome of a true Aussie success story.
As National Storage has evolved, so has Mal’s role and responsibilities. When asked what his biggest professional challenge was to date, aside from the many natural disasters he has personally had to combat, Mal mentioned the period immediately post-listing. But in his usual happy-go-lucky manner, he referred to it not as a challenge, but an opportunity.
“When we first listed on the ASX, it provided us with the opportunity to expand in a short period of time. We managed to adapt at speed and grow the business to become the industry leader we are today.”
Mal McAllan (right) with his brother and colleague, Ross McAllan.
However, despite the many avenues for growth and change, the real reason Mal has opted to share his time and talents with us for more than two decades is, of course, our people, and our unwavering values.
“Despite the fact that we are an ASX 200 company, National Storage is still a family business at heart. I appreciate being able to work with my brother Ross – my son Tavis previously worked with us also.”
Follow Mal’s National Storage journey below.
1997: Mal assisted in building the first storage centre at Oxley.
1998: Mal and his wife Karen were asked to manage National Storage Aspley. Fun fact: Karen worked with National Storage for approximately 17 years.
2001: When the National Mini Storage portfolio was purchased, Mal was asked to take on the role of Property Maintenance Manager.
2002: Mal was asked to join the Head Office team.
2005: Mal became our Property Manager. This role has evolved as the team has grown to meet the demand posed by new centres.
2020: Mal is now our General Manager of Properties and Projects.
From opportunities for international travel, to the feeling of autonomy in his role, Mal can’t help but sing the praises of the job he loves. Upon reflection, as humble as he is, he also takes great pride in his achievements.
“I really value being part of the team that has contributed to growing the company from a single storage centre at Oxley, to over 190 centres today.”
Looking forward, Mal hopes to continue to train and educate his team so that he is able to foster talent, while also freeing up his time to focus more on project-based work – namely, adding the latest technology to our existing portfolio.
When posed the question “what would you say to someone considering joining our team?”
Mal simply smiled at his brother and said
“be good at your job.”
And that right there, is Mal in a nutshell.
