After graduating from Wits University, Michelle joined Price Waterhouse in the audit division where she remained for seven years. In 1994, she joined a new joint venture with FirstCorp Merchant Bank and started her corporate finance career, doing her first acquisition of the Bergers Group Limited shell and reverse listing. Following FirstCorp’s restructure in 1995, she took over the business, forming Kingfisher Corporate and Executive Proprietary Limited, providing corporate finance and listing services to entrepreneurial businesses.
After the birth of her first child in 2001, Michelle joined the Arcay group and started the sponsor business within Arcay. Thereafter, she took over the running of the company secretarial business, which primarily serviced listed companies. She was later allocated a shareholding in both these businesses. In 2013, Michelle was part of a team that did a management buyout of the controlling interest of various subsidiaries, leading to the formation of Arbor Capital.
In October 2019, the Arbor Capital group restructured and the listing business and company secretarial business were reacquired by Michelle, keeping the team intact, and leading to the rebranding of the two businesses as AcaciaCap Advisors and Light Consulting.