Mike Teke was born in 1964 in Kwa Thema, Springs and has the following qualifications: BA (Ed), B.Ed (University of the North) 1985-1989; BA (Hons) (RAU) 1995-1996 and MBA (Unisa) 1999-2002. He started work as a school teacher and subsequently served in various HR roles at Unilever, Bayer, BHP Billiton and Impala Platinum until 2007. In 2008, Mike left Impala to be one of the founding members of Optimum Coal (he was appointed CEO) and was part of the listing of Optimum Coal on the JSE in March 2010. In September 2012, after Glencore purchased and delisted Optimum, Mike resigned as CEO and became Non-Executive Chairman until April 2015.
Since his days as an active CEO in the listed corporate world, Mike has contributed to various associations and educational bodies and has developed and grown his own business interests. He is Deputy Chairman of Council at the University of Johannesburg, was appointed VP of the Chamber of Mines in 2011/12 and on 5 November 2013 was appointed President of the Chamber of Mines. He was further appointed Chairman of the Richard’s Bay Coal Terminal in 2012 and is currently serving in this role. Mike serves on the Board of Rolfes, a JSE-listed company and is the founder, Executive Chairman and controlling shareholder of Masimong, a diversified investment company which, among other investments, holds a material interest in Anchor Group. Among his other interests is Dedicoal, a service-based mining and beneficiation vehicle which is active in the South African mining sector.
