Recently, our Business Development team welcomed a couple of new team members. One of which being Michael who has joined the DotModus team as a Senior Associate. Michael is a highly motivated Executive Manager with expertise in Product and Solutions Management within the Telecommunications Industry.
In his previous roles, he has been recognised for his exceptional capacity to drive strategic business planning, product portfolio growth and new product development, thus enhancing the overall customer experience. Furthermore, he has a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of business and company promotion, brand management as well as marketing.
Micheal is clearly self-confident and presentable while also possessing the technical expertise, product knowledge - qualities that made him stand out during our search for team members. When deciding on who would be the best fit for our team, we needed someone that truly values the importance of maintaining a customer-centric focus - an approach that Michael made very clear from the beginning.
Throughout his career, Michael has successfully built Consulting and Product Teams. Often, in organisations where no capability exists, he has designed and implemented consulting/product lifecycle methodologies and has led the implementation of these into the respective organisations.
Don’t let this fool you - Michael isn’t all business. He really enjoys his family and sports. He has completed over 10 full Ironman races around the world. For the past 10 years he has really focussed on long-distance triathlons - see below for the impressive details! His other hobbies include wildlife photography as well as thought-provoking podcasts and books.
“Our growth strategy at DotModus is to double the revenue within the next 3 years. We have already achieved this twice over the years. We can only afford to have the best players on the team to achieve this. The recruitment process was rigorous, methodical and data-driven using custom software and specialist skills. Well done Mike and welcome to my team!”
Matt Chittenden - Sales Director
Just like Emil (you can check that out here), we wanted to get to know Michael a little better. Here’s what happened:
Angelique: Welcome to the team, Michael! First question: what was your very first job and what did you learn from it that has stuck with you?
Michael: I got my first job when I was about 8 or 9 years old - delivering newspapers in the morning. The key things I learnt from it were discipline - as customers wanted their newspapers before 6am each morning, come rain or sunshine. The other aspect I learnt at a young age was how to “cold call” as I had to call on peoples’ houses and sell them our newspaper services.
As I had to ride up Northcliff hill each morning with a bike laden with newspapers, I learnt another skill and that was riding a bike up a steep hill fast – this stood me in good stead for my Triathlon days 😉.
A: That’s definitely not what I was expecting but really interesting! What do you like doing and what are some things you've done outside of work that you are proud of?
M: I really enjoy sports and my family and I typically spend most weekends on or around some kind of sports field, watching one of the girls perform. I enjoy all sports but have focused the last 10 years on long distance Triathlons, where I have completed over 10 full Ironman races around the world, including the iconic Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. I have managed to “podium” in a few local races, as well as races in the USA and Asia.
I was awarded my “age group” national colours for both Triathlon and Duathlon. The toughest sports event I have undertaken has to be the Cape Epic – it is not for the faint-hearted!
When not on or around a sports field my hobby of wildlife photography takes me to some far-out places in SA and Africa, which I find extremely peaceful and often use to recharge my batteries.
A: Impressive! I believe you told us that you enjoy listening to podcasts? Any recommendations?
M: I am currently listening to the following podcasts:
- Inside the Strategy Room – which gives good insight into how companies are planning to grow, post the pandemic;
- HBR Ideacast – provides a very broad spectrum of topics from Networking, leadership, Innovation to Music; and
- Wildlife Conservation Insights – for the conservationist in me.
A: And books? Any recommendations?
M: I have just started Elon Musk’s - How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future and at the onset, it appears it is going to be a good read.
A: He’s someone we should definitely keep an eye on for sure. Since DotModus is in the business of technology, what upcoming technological innovation will dramatically impact the industry in the next five years, in your opinion?
M: Although not up and coming I think the large-scale adoption of “Elastic Computing” services from the Hyperscalers will forever change the IT landscape. As companies build their trust in these services, they will shift more and more services into the Cloud and eventually they will be left with little to no IT infrastructure footprint, thereby permanently altering the IT value and supply chain. These elastic computing services will also provide the “horsepower” required to drive the adoption of large-scale deployments of AI and ML-based solutions.
A: I’m also really interested to see how AI and ML will shape our future. Last question - how do you define success?
M: Success to me is defined by achieving a healthy balance between my work, my family, keeping healthy, playing sport, continual learning and contributing back to society.
For me, it is important to try and maintain a balance between these different aspects, as accomplishments are measured so differently and they can provide a much deeper sense of achievement.
We’re really looking forward to working with Michael and welcome to our team with open arms.
