The Business Culture Podcast

Guest BIOGRAPHY

Michael Leemhuis, M.A. Ed., CCM, CCE, PGA Master Professional

Michael was born and had his initial education in South Africa. After graduating from Pretoria Boys HS, he studied at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg graduating with a teaching degree in Physical Education and History. 

Michael started his teaching career at the renowned King Edward VII School in South Africa where he taught PE and History. Michael’s desire for education then brought him to the United States, where he studied at UCLA for a brief time. It was this experience at UCLA that drove him to complete his Master’s degree in Sport at East Carolina University.  

 Michael’s life-time goal of a career in sport has been realized and he is the first one to tell you that the only positions he has ever had, have been in the sports industry. His experience in sport has run through many different industries; 

• hotel/resort management; 
• stadium management; 
• athlete representation; 
• event management; 
• sports retail and finally 
• private club management. 

 

He is also no stranger to major sporting events, having been very involved in the hosting of a 

• U.S. Open (Congressional C.C. 2011); 
• a USTA Tennis event; 
• eight PGA TOUR events and 
• multiple ultra-distance marathon and triathlon races.

 

His extensive leadership and sports experience has been gained in his roles as the 

• President of the Ocean Reef Club; 
• CEO of Congressional Country Club; 
• President of the Club Managers Association of America in 2009; 
• GM/Director of Golf at the PGA TOUR; 
• General Manager, Sport and Recreation at Sun City Resort; 
• Tournament Director of the Nedbank Million Dollar Golf Challenge and MD of Sports International. 

 

One of Mike’s career highlights was guiding Congressional Country Club to the #1 spot in the Platinum Clubs of America and into the top 100 of Platinum Clubs in the World.

• Education combined with certification are what Mike believes are the cornerstones of success in business and in life and to that end Mike is a Certified Club Manager (CCM) and 
• Certified Chief Executive (CCE) through CMAA, 
• as well as a certified PGA member through the PGA of America and the PGA of South Africa (Master Professional). 
• In 2011 Michael was recognized as the CMAA Club Manager of the Year for his dedication and commitment to the club industry and, 
• in 2013 he was presented The Boardroom magazine - Jim Singerling Leadership Award. 
• As of November 2016, Michael has served as the Chairman of the PGA of America National Employment Committee, a way he feels he can give back to the golf community at large. 
• In 2019 Mike was recognized by CMAA as one of 10 “Fellows” in their inaugural class.

 

An avid sportsman himself, Mike has twice finished the gruelling Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, numerous other ultra-triathlons, two ultra-marathons and 40 marathons. 

• His other passions are fishing, photography, travel, wine and reading. 
• Michael is a native of South Africa … married to his wife Dale for 37 years and a proud father of two very athletic sons, Matthew and Joshua … he and Dale currently reside in Jupiter, FL, USA. 

 

Follow Mike Leemhuis:

Facebook

LinkedIn

 

If you'd like to go deeper into the learnings from this podcast and other leadership lessons, head on over to learn.rcaconsulting.biz. 

In this episode, I got to chat with Elma Smit. Having recently covered both the Cricket and Rugby World Cups in England and Japan respectively, Elma graciously gives us a behind-the-scenes perspective on what it’s like to create a personal brand in the world of content creation. An individual who continues to make global impact in very much her own, authentic way. 

To follow Elma's journey, visit the respective links below:

https://www.instagram.com/elmakapelma

https://twitter.com/Elmakapelma

https://www.facebook.com/elma.smit/

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Business Culture Podcast! A platform to learn through the power of context & story. 

Great to be back with you. This season is all about IMPACT. 

I’ll be chatting to impact-makers across industries and geographies to understand how they have made true impact on their customers, colleagues and communities.

Our first guest for season 2 is Brett Graham - Director of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in South Africa. 

What was initially meant to be a brief temp job upon arriving in London in the year 2000, turned out to be 20 years and counting with the remarkable Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Let’s hear what it means to work within a truly purpose-led organisation. 

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For more information about Laureus, visit www.laureus.com.

If you'd like to find out more about the work that we at RCA are doing to cultivate world-class organisational cultures, visit www.rcaconsulting.biz.

In the final episode of season 1, I got to chat with Simon Ekin - a prominent performance & life coach based in Cape Town. 

Simon has worked with an interesting cross-section of professionals across the sporting and business worlds. Growing up in the UK, Si speaks of his time serving in the army to ultimately stumbling onto performance-coaching and falling in love with South Africa. 

Thanks to our friends at Spaces for providing the venue for the interview.

In this episode, I got to chat with Mark Fawzy - the founder of Boxchamp, a globally successful tech solution for gyms born right here in South Africa.  

Mark tells his fascinating story about going from detesting academia to disrupting an industry and the tough lessons learnt along to ultimately achieving global presence. 

Thanks to our friends at Spaces for providing the venue for the interview.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Scotty Fraser, one of South Africa’s leading financial advisors. 

Scotty and his team have built up an impressive client base over the last 7 years. More significant though, is his story of how he got to where he is today. He generously shares a rather personal journey with us in this podcast.

Thanks to our friends at Spaces for providing the venue for the interview. 

In the final episode of 2019, Rob sat down with one of RCA's brightest young recruits, Claudia Gevers. Completing her masters in 2018, Claudia started working at RCA in January 2019 and discusses what the youth of today look for in a preferred organisation. 

As RCA is about to turn 10 years old, we also look back at some of the key lessons learnt from the last decade in business. 

In this episode, Rob visited the iconic Waterford Wine Estate just outside Stellenbosch to chat with Damien Joubert-Winn, Head of Sales & Marketing for this global brand. 

Damien has enjoyed the fortune of working both in the corporate as well as niched brand space and speaks about what he has learnt from one and taken into the other. We also discuss some key attributes of effective sales teams in today’s market.  

Let’s hear his story. 

In this episode, I visited the highly-regarded Test Kitchen to chat with Tinashe Nyamudoka, head sommelier of this world-class restaurant.

Tinashe speaks very eloquently about his youth in Harare, making the move to Cape Town and working in establishments like the Roundhouse, One & Only, The Oyster Box in Durban and some key lessons he has accumulated along the way. 

Let’s hear his story. 

In this episode, I travelled to the beautiful Val de Vie Estate to chat with Ryk Neethling, Olympic gold medalist & now marketing director for the Val de Vie & Pearl Valley estate. 

We discussed Ryk’s successful transition from professional sport to the business world, what he took from one into the other and how he is now shaping a world-class culture at Val de Vie. 

Let’s hear his story. 

In this episode, I had a chat with Chris Payne, one of Cape Town’s real talents in the restaurant space. 

Chris shares his uniquely interesting story about starting in odd-jobs, working in world-class restaurants abroad & ultimately starting his own collection of restaurants with partner, Kyle Miller. 

Let’s hear his story.

In this episode, I travelled to Rupert & Rothschild to chat with the Global Sales & Marketing Manager, Carla Malherbe. This is a story of an ambitious & resourceful individual who has made a success of her career working from the ground up and learning some very important lessons along the way. Malherbe now represents one of the South African wine industry's most valued brands in Rupert & Rothschild across the global landscape. Let's hear her story. 

Chris is one of the youngest executives in Club Management and has been the CEO at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club for the past 6 years. His passion, attention to detail, leadership, development of others, distinctive approach and proven delivery has lead the team at Royal to two World Golf Awards and set the example in club innovation. Chris owns his own management company, consulting to some of the finest golf and hospitality facilities in the country. His personal development never ends and he's currently completing his bachelors in business administration, through the University of Switzerland.

Chris is passionate about helping others and serves as an ambassador for Cupcakes 4 Kids with Cancer.