About The Team

THE TIXSA FAMILY

OUR EXTENDED FAMILY

COENIE MIDDEL
Founder

Coenie Middel is a Chartered Accountant with a passion for the media and entertainment world. His experience includes: festivals, sporting events, exhibitions , ticketing, artist management, contracts, and music and film productions. His mission is to ensure that Tixsa provides a comprehensive service to clients with the smartest technology delighting clients through innovation and superior service.

CHARLENE MCKENZIE
CEO

Charlene McKenzie is the absolute driving force behind Tixsa. Charlene has been in the entertainment industry since the early 90’s. Charlene spent 16 years running her own highly regarded music venue in Pretoria before joining Tixsa, building a great reputation with producers, promoters, artists and clients. What Charlene loves most about using Tixsa is the reliable, user friendly online system and software, and the way Tixsa deals with their clients. She especially loved the ability to manage her own loading of events and building a database where she “owned her audience”. Her focus at Tixsa is helping clients with events; from planning, marketing, ticketing to execution. She always strives to exceed customer expectations. What Charlene loves most about her job is becoming a part of her clients events and becoming a little “working family”. When she is not busy being our Tixsa-superwoman, you might just find her painting or somewhere relaxing with her nose buried in a a book. She is also a bit of a mountain biking junkie. Charlene personally loves attending anything arty and creative: from the ballet and opera, to alternative poetry readings and live music. She has a soft spot for Blues, Jazz and Rock ‘n Roll. With Charlene’s incredible gift to conquer any problem create synergy among the people surrounding her, it’s no wonder her favorite quote is one from Rod McKuen: “Be aware then that tomorrow is only tomorrow. There is nothing to fear except the coming of another day. But two against a winter morning are sure to claim one more victory over chance and trouble.”

DIVAN DE BEER
IT & Event Operations Coordinator

Divan has been part of the Tixsa family since it was founded. He started out on ground level assisting with access management at events. His hearty enthusiasm and focus on creating a pleasant customer experience soon made him an indispensable asset to Tixsa. Today he has geared himself with a wide range of skills and he is pretty much the backbone of Tixsa’s IT Department and our secret ingredient when it comes to e nsuring smooth running of all operational aspects of access management at events. Divan’s favorite part of his job is engaging directly with clients on site at events. He gets a great kick out of clients who walk away with a smile and compliments that they’ve experienced one of the fastest moving queues at events. When Divan is not ensuring happy smiles at events or engineering IT solutions for Tixsa, you’ll probably find him gaming, cooking or exploring new landscapes on a mountain bike. Events Divan likes to attend personally include The Color Run SA, the ICON Comics and Games convention and the RAGE EXPO. Divan de Beer lives by these words: “ GO BIG OR GO HOME “.

SURINKE RIVE
Accountant

Surinke is our soft spoken but level-headed accountant, born and raised in the Free State. Got married and moved to Pretoria. Worked in the motor and wine industry as Admin Manager before moving to Tixsa as Finance and Accounts Officer in 2018. She is the drive behind Tixsa’s analyses of financial data and allows us to make data-driven business decisions. Her achievements reaches far and wide and because of her bac kground in training all the admin staff for the motor and wine industry branches in Tshwane and implementing the systems she developed, Surinke brings additional value to Tixsa, its staff, it’s business processes and the development thereof. She loves working at Tixsa, because she feels you are more than an employee, you are part of a family. Surinke loves the amazing platforms that we offer our clients, and working with staff that are committed to giving our clients the best possible experience and service. On the rare occasion that she allows herself to take a day off, you will find her buried behind a good book. Surinke is a caring individual, an ‘all in’ wife, mom, and grandmother and always ready to give, help, nurture, and guide. No wonder that her favourite quote in life is that of Mark Twain - “Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

MARCO DU PLESSIS
Client Relations

Marco works diligently alongside his support team on the TIXSA support desk. He is never too busy to assist, guide or train our clients. He is the perfect fit for client relations and is loved by all our clients. He is a passionate computer gamer and enjoys competing against his brother. Marco’s favourite part of working for Tixsa is working at events and seeing how people are impressed about how fast our system ru ns and how splendid our teamwork is. Although Marco is the youngest member of Team TIXSA, the value and commitment he adds is testimony to the growth of TIXSA.

SANDIE RIVE
Support and Event Access Management

Sandie Taljaard is a small-town girl from Benoni who's passionate about working with people and changing people's lives daily. This is evident in her work, the way she deals with clients and her desire to resolve, solve, and keep our ticket buyers and clients happy. For Sandie happiness is the ultimate achievement and we could not agree more. “Success is not the key to happiness, but happiness the key to success." (Albert Schweitzer) She loves working at Tixsa because she loves the family atmosphere we create, and that her hard work is rewarded. Sandie loves our innovative system which is user-friendly as well as the customer service level we strive for, which is right up her ally and fits in with her personality. When things get tough, Sandie loves to relax by doing some dancing, yoga, cooking, walking her dogs and she also does community service for her local CPF. No wonder Sandie wants to be the change in the world and not be the one to wait for change.

RAYMOND RIVE
Support and Event Access Management

Raymond was born in Bloemfontein and now lives in Centurion. Raymond has a great track record in sport, with colors in rugby cross-country and athletics. The discipline and commitment you require to achieve in sport is evident in his work ethics today. Raymond is timeously, friendly and focused on delivering the best possible version of himself, when following through on a project or job for Tixsa. He loves working for Tixsa because it doesn't feel like going to work for him, he says. He enjoys what he does when working onsite or assisting with event operations. That is why we love Raymond. No job is ever too difficult, too untimely, or too big. He is always willing to jump in and make a difference. Honesty is his way of life and no beating around the bush for Raymond. One can always trust him to be just Raymond and his loyalty is just there, right in front of you, without any doubt. Working with his hands gives him time to reflect and take a break. Whether it is woodwork, gaming, or community service for his local CPF, when meeting Raymond he will always be the kind and caring person you see the first time you meet him. Raymond’s favourite quote is “don't look before you leap, rather leap before you look” and this shows why he has the ability to define, actively pursue and successfully achieve his goals.

NICOL VAN DEN BERGH
Event Operations and Support

Nicol has extensive experience in live music, event management and connecting people from different routes of life. He fits like a glove in the Tixsa festival and live events genre, and we are lucky to have him onboard assisting with our events and the supervising thereof. As the previous project leader for the Oppikoppi festival and co/owner of The Good Luck Bar live, Nicol knows how to prepare for an event, handle on the day event pressure and crowd madness with ease, as well as deal with our clients in a professional manner. Nicol loves working with team Tixsa due to the variety of events that runs through our online software platform which covers events for people from all walks of life and industries. Nicol says: “The support and willingness from team Tixsa is always present” and that is why he loves working with us. We can certainly give a loud shout out on this matter: this is the type of person Nicol is: always willing to learn and improve. No wonder that his favourite quote is: “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

CINDY SCHUTTE
Celebration Architect

Cindy joined our team in 2023 and we are thrilled to have her spearheading, Hive-Mind, our new, in-house experiential events department by finding innovative and creative solutions for current community issues by hosting relevant events to spread awareness and carrying out Hive Mind’s vision and mission: “Learning How to Live”. Cindy started her career in the amazing world of Travel & Tourism. Her main goal at t he time was to see the world, not knowing that she would gain so much more. Her absolute passion is to help others along their journey! After 12 years in the corporate world, she decided that it was time for me to give back! Finally following her true passion, to make a difference in the world around her and allowing life to be her teacher. She was introduced to Flowerscape and the art of Floral design. She became a floral designer for events and weddings as well as a lecturer for Floral design level 1 & 2 for two and half years. Cindy is a proud member of the (SACBW) Her involvement with Charity & Fundraising is impressive to say the least. She volunteered her services to King Fisher Country Estate, facilitating Women’s Healing Retreats for 3 years, ambassador for the International Inspiring Women’s Network and fulfilled the duty of events planner & hostess for them for 4 months. Waldorf Education employed her for 4 years where she formed part of the management team of a small Non-profit Waldorf School, helping with their administrative requirements as well as events and fundraisers. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to start her own Anti-Aging Wellness business, and she also facilitated lingerie events for women. Constantly studying, Cindy continuous to educate herself and practice in the field of Therapeutic Reflexology & Meridian Therapy, as well as lifestyle and nutrition guidance, offering healing where she can. (2017 – to present) Her love for dance, led her to the art of Belly dancing, and through the years this too was transformed into something new as she created “Sacred movement” workshops for women to reconnect to their divine femininity. She loves everything, tea, blends & events related to tea, where she shares beautiful ceremonial meditation experiences with her clients and friends. Cindy loves working at Tixsa and adds value to our vision and passion for events and the eventing industry. Cindy says: “With shared values of community and human connection and a desire to provide excellent service it has been an absolute blessing to form part of Tixsa’s extraordinary team.” She loves spending time, Belly dancing, Singing, Felting, and spend time in nature. As a well-rounded and giving person it is no wonder that her favourite quote is: “See a need, fill a need!”

KENNETH KAMDEM
NANDUS DU TOIT
DHAAKIR SMALL
JOSS THOMAS THORBURN
SHENIQUE FERREIRA
XANDER STEYN
PAUL DU PLESSIS
GRACE MAGUBANE
NOXOLO MABASO
JEAN PAUL THORBURN
TANAKA MAPFUMO
IVAN LOUW
MAKGOTSO MAJOZI
MARELI MC DULING
MUSA MAZIYA
RIKUS MALIEPAARD