1. KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION
RICHARD BRANSON
Dom Fotso
How to live a full life

2. KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION
Bio and major accomplishments
Entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist
• Born in 1950 in London. Eighth fortune of UK
($5B)
• Created Student magazine at 16 after dropping
out of high school
• Founder of Virgin Group (50K employees,
400+ companies, $25B annual revenues)
• Knighted in 1999 by Prince Charles
• World records: Crossed Atlantic in hot air
balloon (1987), Longest balloon trip (1991)
• Entrepreneurial highlights: Virgin Records (1970), Virgin Atlantic (1984), Sale of
Virgin Records for $1B (1992), Virgin Cola (1994), Virgin Rail (1997), Virgin Mobile
(1999), Virgin Galactic (2004)
• Virgin Unite as non-profit: Virgin Earth Challenge, The Elders
• Married to Joan and has two children, Holly and Sam

3. KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION
Be Real
Act with authenticity by clarifying what's important
• Encouraged to be authentic by his parents
• Dyslexic, struggled in school and dropped out
at 16 to become an entrepreneur
• His headmaster: “In prison or become a
millionaire”
• Risky business decisions:
• signed Sex Pistols, promoted avant-garde
music (Punk, New Wave)
• Invested in airlines industry then sold
Virgin Records to support it
• Multiple world record attempts
• crossing the Atlantic in hot air balloon (1987) against Virgin Atlantic
executives recommendation
• fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle in 2004

4. KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION
Be Whole
Act with integrity by respecting the whole person
• Management of Virgin Group: HealthMiles to
support employees health engagement, Virgin
Pulse to help employee engagement and
support philanthropic causes
• Home / Work integration:
• Goes on all holidays with kids, pioneered
flexible workplace at Virgin
• Involves family in world record attempts
(crossing Atlantic in sail boat with his kids)
• Unite, the non-profit arm of the Virgin Group
• The Elders (with Nelson Mandela, Koffi Annan)
• Carbon War Room (initiative for Global Warming)

5. KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION
Be Innovative
Act with creativity by experimenting to find new solutions
• Entrepreneurship through frustration as a
philosophy to challenge the status quo (Virgin
Brides, Virgin Airlines, Virgin Galactic)
• Virgin Earth Challenge: $25M prize for a viable
solution to the greenhouse gas problem
• Innovative commitment device: pledged 10 years
of profits from Virgin transportation (~$3B)
towards renewable alternatives to carbon fuels

6. KNOWLEDGE FOR ACTION
Lessons Learned
• Live with passion (and encourage it for
your kids)
• Invest in what you believe in despite
other people’s opinions
• Find the right people and inspire them
• Life is one long learning process: love
learning and challenging the status
quo
• Stand for something: Virgin stands for
quality and for combatting frustration