Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XVIII

1 4 3 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Prometheus72 / Shutterstock.com In what areas do you see the greatest opportunities for your business to grow in 2015, and what are your expansion plans beyond? We are launching new businesses in the five core sectors we operate in. Take this year, for example: VirginHotels launched their first hotel in Chicago; we announced our aims to enter the Cruise industry; and invested with Qualcomm in OneWeb to bring broadband to areas currently without. How do you motivate your team and colleagues? The motivation comes from believing in what Virgin stands for and our reasons for why we are in business. All of our investments and projects are focused towards making business a force for good and helping improve people’s lives. In everything we consider doing, if the output doesn’t meet those criteria, we will not do it. Having a bigger goal that every department is ultimately working towards helps build teamwork and confidence, since everyone is working towards the same aim. How is your time managed between your work life and personal life? I am always working on the go. I have never had an office that I work out of and work has become intertwined with my personal life. Fortunately I am able to work from my home, Necker Island, and can answer my emails in the morning, play tennis or kitesurf in the afternoon to keep fit and have meetings or phone calls in between. Allowing our people to have a good work-life balance by working flexibly is very important to Virgin. Our people are at the core of everything we do, and we recognise the importance of giving them the flexibility to balance work around their personal lives. At Virgin Management we have embraced flexible working since 2013 and allowed our people to work remotely from home if they wish to. We trust our employees to work in this way and get their work done efficiently and effectively. Where is your favourite holiday destination? I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to some fantastic places in my life. Of note, Madagascar is a stunning island with some beautiful wildlife specific only to the island. Every species of lemur on the planet is only found on Madagascar. We have developed a lemur conservation programme on Necker with several species originally fromMadagascar as lemur numbers are at serious risk due to habitat loss. Who is your favourite musician? I have been very fortunate to know many great musicians. During the time Virgin Records was making an impact in the music industry, bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols used to use our recording studio in Oxford. That said, my favourite musician is Mike Oldfield. His album Tubular Bells was hugely important for both his and Virgin’s future. I remember listening to him playing live at the Royal Albert Hall and the deafening applause after he finished. Is it true you don’t like neckties? Just look at my Twitter account! “Tie-loathing…” are the first two words I use to describe myself!