Re: What do you do?

Description: On being both entrepreneurial and charitable.

Question: Beyond a simple title, how would you describe what you do for a living?

Transcript: First of all I’m actually not really CEO. I find good CEOs to run each of the individual companies. So you know, we have . . . we have these 300 CEOs out there around the world who are leading the fight. I take a chairman role. So you know my . . . the way I split my time is about 50 percent on, you know, social projects. And that’s increased over the years. Of the other 50 percent, about a third is spent on fire fighting when we have a problem. About a third is spent on developing the companies that we’ve already got going. And the other third is maybe spent on getting new companies going. And then between all that, you know, I have to get out there and try to make sure that Virgin becomes the most respected brand in world. And one way of making sure it becomes the most respected brand in the world is to get out there and talk about what we’re doing and help, you know, promote and get the brand in people’s minds and support all the people out there who are working hard to build it.

Question: What is Virgin?

Transcript: I mean the company is made of up 300 individual companies. It’s very unusual for a western company. In fact, perhaps it’s unusual even for an eastern company. And so in a sense, we’re a way of life company. I mean you’ve got the better known brands in the west. Coca-Cola specializes in soft drinks, Microsoft in computers, Nike in shoes. And so it goes on. Virgin can look after your needs from the time you’re born almost until the time you die. I haven’t quite got to Virgin funerals yet. And they . . . but I . . . and the reason for that is I love life. I love learning about new things. I love . . . you know, if I see that something can be done better, I love to, you know, challenge myself and the people around me to see if we can do it better. And I am inquisitive.

I’ve just come from a meeting with wonderful . . . My uncle ______ where we’ve been talking about, you know, what we’ve been discovering on clean fuels. What he’s been discovering on clean fuels and you know, sharing ideas. Incredibly exciting to see if we can come up with a fuel that can replace the conventional dirty fuels that’s destroying our planet. And so . . . and so just learning and . . . and living life to its full. Now that process of being an entrepreneur, I learned a lot. It can be very useful. And then tackling some of the global problems that we face. And you know I just mentioned fuels. And a massive problem that the world faces is global warming. It’s going to affect all countries in the world, and in particular the poorer countries. And ultimately could literally, you know, mean the end of mankind itself. But man has the brains and the intelligence to do something about it and, you know, we’re gonna play a major part in trying to do something about it. And that’s the kind of entrepreneurial, charitable, in a sense, approach that we’re now taking to new ventures.

Recorded on: 7/5/07