Mike Beaumont was born in South Africa and grew up in an environment deeply committed to conservation. His family is one of five founding families of what is now the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, one of the earliest and most successful private game reserves in South Africa. Much of his childhood and early adulthood was spent advocating for the protection of the African bushveld, including time spent working as a ranger for Londolozi Game Reserve. Today, the family's camp in the Sabi Sand reserve is one of the last remaining original "bush" camps in the area, an increasingly rare commodity in the relentless push for greater luxury and density in private reserves.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Mike worked for several years as a chemical engineer before moving to the United States to obtain an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. After six years in private equity, in 1997 Mike co-founded Industrial Growth Partners, a private equity firm which today is a dominant player in the US middle-market manufacturing space.  Mike has served as chairman or a ‘working’ director on over 30 boards of companies with operations in at least 19 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central America and South America. Mike and his wife, Philippa, have two children and currently reside in California and Texas with their dog Fergie.