He was previously Communications Director for Human Rights Watch, was Chief Editorial and Content Officer for the Hindustan Times, and Editor-in-Chief of the Mail & Guardian newspaper.
Dawes completed his high school education at the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada.
He then studied Science and later English literature at the University of Cape Town before attending graduate school in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship.
On his return to South Africa he wrote as a freelance for a wide range of local publications, and for television, before becoming News and Finance editor at one of the country's early web portals, World Online.
He left World Online to become Managing Director at Maverick Interface Design, a digital communications agency that helped companies to develop their internet and mobile strategies, but ultimate decided to return to journalism.