Mixael de Kock

Mixael de Kock is Chairman of The MAVERICK Group (TMG), an alliance of South African communication-related companies which he founded in 2002. TMG is a recipient of a Gold World Award for Excellence in Public Relations.

Mixael served as President and Board Member of many institutions among others the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA), Global Alliance and the Johannesburg Press Club. Mixael is also the co-founder of the South African Consumer Psychology Association.

Mixael has worked for the Japanese Government (JETRO) and, for 17 years headed group communication at the mining giant, Gold Fields (GFSA). As part of his portfolio he managed the Group's social responsibility programme and, pioneered the concept of environmental education and established 37 environmental education centers across Southern Africa. For this work he received international recognition when in 1988 he became one of 25 international awardees as part of the WWF's 25th Anniversary Celebrations.

Mixael is in great demand as a speaker and speaks and writes on numerous cutting-edge subjects discussing human behaviour and the role of communication in the survival of our species and the planet. In 2006 Mixael was critically injured in a robbery and left visually disabled. Despite this setback he lives a fuller life than ever before.