Richard's Blog - 2011

Diving with Great White Sharks

Today I am going diving with Great White Sharks in a Virgin Oceanic submarine test off Mexico. I am spending two days in the submarine with these incredible creatures. For some reason my insurance company wanted to withdraw my cover for the weekend!It will be interesting to see what the Great White Sharks think of our little sub. I'm sure it will be a very different experience than last month's dive with whale sharks. Those gentle giants only eat plankton, Great White Sharks could be more...curi…

The Global Zero conference

On one of my wonderful, varied and fascinating global tours. Today at a meeting of Global Zero, an organisation I was at the birth of a couple of years ago. The Global Zero conference convened international leaders such as George Schultz, James Baker and a number of 5 star generals from Russia, Japan, France and Pakistan at the Ronald Regan Presidential Library in Simi, California to discuss the feasibility of getting rid of all nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are the greatest threat to h…

Wikileaks and Zimbabwe

There’s a Wikileaks cable doing the rounds that says I was trying to bring together a group of African leaders back in 2007 to try to find a solution to Zimbabwe’s political and economic problems. Well, no harm done there. I did discuss the idea with Dr Jonathan Moyo - the former Zimbabwean Information Minister. But some media have claimed I was prepared to offer Mugabe a financial incentive to stand down. This is completely untrue. I should add that the idea for an African leaders…

Launching low carbon fuel with Virgin Atlantic

Today I am in London to announce one of the most exciting developments of our lifetime and a major breakthrough in the war on carbon. Virgin Atlantic, with our partners LanzaTech, is developing a world-first low-carbon aviation fuel that will halve its carbon footprint. This could turn aviation from a dirty industry to one of the cleanest. Industrial processes produce vast amounts of waste energy - we are going to capture this and (he says modestly) very cleverly turn it into jet fuel. In a …

The SLOW LIFE Symposium

I spotted @mujahidabdulla tweeted me asking if I found my visit to the Maldives for the Slow Life Symposium productive. The short answer? Yes I did! Here’s the longer answer. Spending time in the Maldives really makes the issue of protecting our natural resources hit home. It is a chilled, beautiful place full of delightful people. But as the world warms up, water levels rise, wonderful islands like this could disappear.            …

Ciao Milano!

Ciao, sono a Milano per visitare Virgin Active Italia, Corso Como, una delle piu belle club nel mondo! For the non-Italian speakers among us (me included) - today I am in Milan, visiting Virgin Active at Corso Como, one of the most beautiful clubs in the world. Later on, I am looking forward to a fantastic evening with Bulova to launch the Accutron Limited Edition Watches I am proud to endorse. Bulova have been extremely supportive to Virgin Unite, our not-for-profit foundation, and proceeds f…

Another one for the sharks!

Woke up to fantastic news in the campaign to save the sharks. Both California and the Marshall Islands have passed bills to protect these magnificent creatures.Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill banning the sale or possession of shark fins in California. This is a huge step forward in the battle to protect our oceans and the environment. Thank you to Governor Brown for standing up to the pressure he was getting from vested interests in San Francisco.Meanwhile, The Marshall Islands government…

True business leaders think differently

Leadership doesn’t have a secret formula; all true leaders go about things in their own way. It’s this ability to think differently that sets them apart - and that enabled Steve Jobs to create perhaps the most respected brand in the world.What leadership boils down to is people. Whatever your style, whatever your method, you need to believe in yourself, your ideas and your staff. Nobody can be successful alone – and you cannot be a great leader without great people to lead.Stev…

Get out and about

Although I no longer run companies day to day, it is important for leaders to get out and about amongst their companies and not to get stuck behind desks all the time. Earlier this week I spent a great day in the Midlands saying hello to staff at Virgin Active healthclubs and Assura Medical's Summerfield centre, as well as taking a Virgin Trains journey. I also took in a visit to Virgin Management, discussing digital and being social. We had a staff Q&A session in the canteen, where I w…

Remembering Steve Jobs

Woke this morning to hear the sad news that Steve Jobs has lost his battle with cancer. He was a truly great businessman but more than that he was an inspiration to young people, entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, early adopters, budding musicians, and people with disabilities who discovered with Apple's devices a way to engage with the world. So many people drew courage from Steve and related to his life story: adoptees, college drop-outs, struggling entrepreneurs, ousted business leaders fi…

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