Richard Branson, the visionary British entrepreneur, came to Florence to host “The Virgin Unite Charity Concert” and to celebrate the opening of a new Virgin Active Health Club on the city’s southern outskirts. Branson, dressed casually and even appearing a bit rumpled, seemed to be energized by the crowd that had come to hear him speak. He spoke thoughtfully without a practised or slick speech. He didn’t seem concerned with protecting his image and impressing others. He clearly wants to make a difference.
The 55 year-old magnate has a seemingly insatiable appetite for starting new businesses. His internationally recognized brand “Virgin” is splashed across everything from credit cards, to airlines, mobile phones and music Mega stores. He has created one of the most recognizable brands in the world, managing to “Virginize” a wide range of products and services. The variety of businesses he controls is as vast as the geographical coverage the brand has, with some 200 companies in more than 30 countries.
Branson left school at the age of 16 and made his first million just a year later selling records by mail-order. Today he is using his business team and his wealth toward worldly improvements. His philosophy, he says, is all “about doing everything better and doing some things differently”. This means dedicating 50 percent of his time to business and the other 50 percent to the issues that matter most. One of his missions includes efforts to achieve a reality, starting with the staff of Virgin, where there is “Zero” new infections of AIDS, “Zero” transmission of AIDS from mother to child, and “Zero” deaths due to AIDS. He is also a trustee of several charities such as the Virgin Healthcare Foundation, a leading healthcare charity which was responsible for the launch of a health education campaign relating to AIDS that began in 1987.
Branson has started another “Virgin” company, called “Virgin Fuel, using ethanol refineries, for example, that could reduce fuel costs and make everyone less dependent on the OPEC nations for oil. At the same time, he’s working to make that solution environmentally friendly. In December 1999, Branson was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Millennium New Year’s Honours List for “services to entrepreneurship”. He believes that “A brand is only as good as your product” and looks for businesses that are consumer-oriented, global, and are “fun.”
After avideo presentation about the “The Virgin Unite Charity Concert,” an event whose proceeds will support the Virgin charity foundation Virgin Unite, Branson spoke with The Florentine about his business and humanitarian concerns:
Given that you have all the options in the world regarding new business, what moves you to make the choices that you make?
I didn’t start out to become a businessman, I started with a magazine. I wanted to make a difference, and I find that is still what governs my choices.
Why did you choose to open up a gym in Florence?
I wanted to give something back to this beautiful city that offers so much. There wasn’t anything like Virgin Active here. A health club offers people something to make their lives better. People love to come and it changes their lives. We have seen that there are no gyms geared towards the whole family, which is a particularly important value here. The novelty of our gyms is that they are aimed at both parents and children.
You have said that Virgin wanted “to take on the conglomerates.” What do you mean by that?
Taking on the conglomerates, well, an exciting reason for being in business is to try to keep the big companies honest. For instance, I think that British Air is now a better airline since we entered the market. We showed that you could give better service at a lower cost. I think we do this in other areas as well. In the music business, I worked with developing artists, nurturing their talent and creativity. Now I think the music business is mostly run by banks and I don’t think they are the right ones to be supporting artists.
I’d like people to think that Virgin is one of the most respected companies in the world and that we’ve made a difference.
What do you think are the personality characteristics or qualities you think you have that have allowed you to be so successful and effective?
I think I am a good leader. I think I am good with people, inspiring them. I am good at having a good group of people around me who will create a company that they believe in what they are doing and are passionate about what they are doing.
I like to work hard, but I also like to have fun and I think this sense of passion or fun works for me and for Virgin. We have started Virgin Galactic that will take passengers into space. Five “spaceliners” are being developed and the first flights are expected to begin in the next few years, and I’m excited to take the first flight.
What do you consider your greatest challenges at the moment?
I think there are a lot of social challenges. When you have the financial success and power that Virgin has, I think it comes with a responsibility.The number of people dying of AIDS everyday; lots of people are talking about it but very few are doing something about it. We all know what is going on in Africa but not nearly enough is being done, nor being done fast enough to stop this tragedy.
There are anti-immune drugs and the knowledge and technology to achieve the “Zero” campaign, so we are spending a lot of time, energy, and money to get something done. In Africa the hospitals are just places for people to die. There is something we can do and we are working on it. Also, there is now India where by 2010, there will be 10 million young people with AIDS, most people are not aware of this or looking to what needs to be done. I am concerned about how many people are dying of malaria unnecessarily, it’s just a matter of eliminating the mosquito, again something for which a solution already exists. So my foundation is working and supporting grass-roots organizations that are actually in the field making things happen.
There is the environment, global warming, pollution. And so we have started Virgin Fuels as a viable and profitable effort to develop non-polluting energy sources.
What is the mark you want to leave on the world?
I would like more young people to live who wouldn’t if we hadn’t assisted.
