Coaching Enterprising People

Mish has been coaching enterprising people since the beginning of 2007. His experience in coaching was recognised in 2010 by the award of the International Coach Federation's sought-after Professional Certified Coach credential. Coaching allows him to enjoy his passion for people, opportunity, creativity and enterprise, and share insights from his experience as a township teacher, entrepreneur and CEO.

From 1993 to the end of 2006, Mish Middelmann was co-founder (with Mirriam Zwane and Michael Haddad) and first CEO of Praxis Computing (Pty) Ltd. Under his leadership the company grew to employ well over fifty professionals, 75% of them black, and establish a track record of integrity and quality of service to its customers as well as dedication to the development of its people. Praxis was the core IT partner of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for its first ten years, and also developed the country's leading specialised ERP software for funders and grantmakers. In 2003 Praxis was recognised by the Wits Business School and KPMG as one of South Africa's Top Twenty Non-Listed Companies, and as one of the country's Top Three most progressive ICT companies in the African Achievers Awards.

He also recognised in 2006 that it was time for him to move on and hand over to new leadership to take the company to the next level.  At the beginning of 2007 Middelmann sold a significant portion of his Praxis shareholding to the new Praxis CEO and moved to a non-executive chairperson role at Praxis. In the process Praxis completed its journey to be a majority black-owned business. In March 2009 he completed the transition by resigning from the board and selling all his remaining shares to Praxis management and staff.

During the late 1990s, Mish presented the weekly Computer Show on Radio 702 and Cape Talk Radio, co-presented a television programme about the business of the internet, wrote a book called The lowdown on Windows 95 and a weekly IT column in the Mail & Guardian newspaper.

Mish's first career was in the townships of Harare, Zimbabwe, where he excelled as a high school "A" level Physics teacher at Highfield High School from 1981 to 1989. After a year as a management trainer in 1989, he returned to South Africa in 1990 after the unbanning of the ANC to focus on parenting two young sons together with his life partner Colleen Dawson, and made the career transition to IT via an education consultancy and an IT training consultancy.

Co-parenting his sons has been a fountain of joy and learning for Mish and he's proud to see them grown and active in the world.

Mish was born in 1958 in Cape Town and educated at Bishops and the University of Cape Town before leaving the country in 1981. His education hasn't stopped since then.