SIR RICHARD BRANSON CALLS ON AN INSPIRING LINE-UP OF ENTREPRENEURS TO HELP HIM SELECT THE WORLD’S BEST IDEAS FOR SCREWING BUSINESS AS USUAL Submitted by: Lineup Media Monday, 16 April 2012 An inspiring line-up of judges is announced today (Monday 16th April) for Virgin Unite and Sir Richard Branson’s Screw Business As Usual competition. The panel of judges, including Sir Richard, consists of Jane Tewson (Igniting Change), Creel Price (Founder Accelerate Global), Peter Boyd (COO, Carbon War Room), Tony Banks (CEO, Balhousie Care Group), Mark Thompson (serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist) and Joe Polish (Founder and President of Piranha Marketing Inc). The Screw Business As Usual competition, launched in November 2011, was designed to find ideas from around the world that are truly screwing business as usual and making the world a better place. We have had a wealth of brilliant ideas, ranging from an ethical football Soccket that harnesses and stores energy from play for use as a power source in resource-poor areas to Rapanui, an eco-fashion brand that makes casual wear in line with the latest trends from sustainable materials, to an idea to introduce a ‘Thinking Class' for air and train passengers to opt into, where passengers can donate their time and generate ideas through a virtual community platform. Sir Richard Branson and this great group of entrepreneurs will be responsible for judging the Top 10 ideas, as voted by the public. The winning idea will be announced on 14th May 2012. The lucky winner will join Richard on a money-can’t-buy Connection Trip to South Africa with Virgin foundation, Virgin Unite. As part of the prize, the winner will get to meet frontline leaders who are making a difference, share ideas with young entrepreneurs at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship and get to spend several days with Richard and the rest of the group, experiencing the beautiful wildlife of South Africa at Ulusaba, Sir Richard's private game reserve. The contest is open until midnight on 17th April 2012 so there is still time to vote for your favourite idea to help find the winner of the 2012 Screw Business as Usual competition. Please see the case studies here for inspiration: http://virginunite.screwbusinessasusual.com/casestudies ABOUT THE JUDGES Jane Tewson - Working at the forefront of social change for over 30 years, Jane is driven by her passion for social justice and the need to reshape the charity sector. Working with people rather than give to them, giving people a voice who aren’t usually heard, finding creative ways to make a difference and making charity involving, edgy and fun, are all hall marks of Jane’s visionary work. Igniting Change (formerly Pilotlight Australia) is the fifth not-for-profit organisation founded by Jane, each with the aim of pushing the boundaries of social change and all of them still flourishing today, including the phenomenally successful Comic Relief, better known as Red Nose Day in the UK (which this year raised its billionth dollar). Page 1 Through Igniting Change, Jane works to seed new and innovative ideas for social action through creative partnerships and initiatives. A purposely tiny charity with huge ambitions and reach, their visits to meet the people, feel the issues are central to their work igniting change by combining extraordinary lives. Jane has been recognised internationally for her accomplishments including; in 1999 she was awarded a CBE for innovation in charity; in 2001 she was named one of the top ten innovators in the UK by The Times; and in 2007 she was the Ernst and Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Jane has been a trustee of a number of organisations including Oxfam, the Media Trust, St James Ethics Centre and Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Committee and is currently a Director of the Reichstein Foundation, Virgin Unite Australia and Virgin Unite International. Jane is married to Charles and has three children, Sarah, Charlie and Sam. Creel Price - Creel Price is a serial entrepreneur, launching eight businesses by the time he left school and a further two at university. At the age 25 he co-founded Blueprint Management Group with $5,000 in capital and sold it a decade later for over $100 million. Driven by his belief in the power of business to make the planet a better place Creel founded the Entreprenaissance movement – a vision to create a 21st century renaissance inspired by entrepreneurial thinking. His mission is simple: To inspire more people to get into business, more people to be successful at business and encourage more entrepreneurs to use business as a catalyst for positive change on the planet. Creel is also the founder of the Club Kidpreneur Foundation, a social enterprise committed to assisting youths start and grow their own micro-enterprise in order that one day they may choose entrepreneurship as a career. With a network of volunteer entrepreneurs the program has been rolled out to over 45 schools around Australia and is being launched in Africa in 2012. Peter Boyd - Peter Boyd brings with him over 15 years of experience in strategy, marketing, operations, and general management. Following over ten years in the Virgin Group, Peter was integral to the launch of CWR, serving as Launch Director starting with the finalization of the initial concept with Richard Branson and fellow founders in early 2009. As COO, Peter focuses his time on developing and implementing the strategy in the three elements of Carbon War Room: Research & Intelligence, Network Engagement, and Operations. Peter is based in London and Washington, DC. He previously served for two years as CEO of Virgin Mobile South Africa, leading the first and only Virtual Mobile Operator on the African continent, tripling its size over the period. Prior to that, he was VP of Marketing for Virgin Mobile USA in New York, leading the launch of the inaugural Virgin Festival USA and its Pro-Social Initiative, while the company grew from 0.5m to 5m customers. This followed various managerial and marketing roles in the Virgin Group in London. Page 2 Tony Banks - Tony Banks is chairman of Balhousie Care Group, Scotland’s fastest growing residential care home provider, and a philanthropist who passionately supports issues such as the long term care of the elderly and mental health of war veterans. As a former soldier in the Parachute Regiment, who fought in the Falklands War, Tony is a rare breed of entrepreneur whose life experience has not only driven him to succeed but also to use his wealth and influence to help others. Tony has appeared in a number of popular television programmes including Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire and The Secret Millionaire Changed My Life, in which he raised awareness and much needed funds for the veterans’ charity Combat Stress, and BBC Scotland’s From War to Peace, in which he confronted his painful memories of the Falklands conflict. While filming The Secret Millionaire in Anfield, Liverpool, Tony lent his support to Combat Stress, the UK's leading military charity providing care to veterans suffering mental health problems. He was invited to join the board of the charity’s The Enemy Within Appeal, which aims to raise £30m to transform mental health services for veterans and raise awareness of their plight. Tony is a member of the executive board of the Entrepreneurial Exchange, Scotland’s leading members’ organisation for ambitious, growth orientated entrepreneurs. Tony is currently funding a “Get into Social Care” project in partnership with the Princes Trust to encourage the youth of today into full-time employment. He is also a Millionaire Mentor for the Entrepreneurs’ Business Academy. Tony has twice been a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the National Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year. Mark Thompson - Mark Thompson is a serial entrepreneur in 10 global companies, and is also a venture capitalist, executive coach, bestselling author and Broadway producer. He was Chief Customer Experience Officer for Charles Schwab & Co, an investment firm with US$1.4 Trillion in client assets. He was also Executive Producer of Schwab.com (https://www.schwab.com/), and prior to that Chief Communications Officer for the global firm. Mark served on the Board of Directors of Best Buy, and Korn/Ferry, the world’s largest recruiting firm. (Mark met Richard when Virgin was introducing mobile phones to Best Buy stores.) He was Chairman of the Board and investor in Integration, Inc., a Sequoia-funded tech company, which was sold to Silicon Labs in 2008. Mark is bestselling author of Now Build a Great Business and Success Built to Last, the sequel to Built to Last. Mark is also on the Board of Directors of Apple Computer’s top iPad and iPhone applications company, Smule, with over 20 million customers and music applications for the hit TV series GLEE and hip hop artist T-Pain. Mark is also an investor in Cancer Genetics, a personalized medicine company. Among Broadway ventures, Mark is a Producer for Peter and the Starcatcher with Disney, StickFly with Alicia Keys and Broadway 4D, the world’s first theatre experience for musicals using 3D film technology and other special effects. 100% of the royalties from Mark’s books and lectures go to charities that support entrepreneurship and education for young women. He and his wife also are active in The Wheelchair Foundation distributions globally. Mark serves on the Board of Governors and is Program Chairman for Peter Drucker’s Leader to Page 3 Leader Institute, serving the nonprofit sector. He also served as a Securities Governor at the World Economic Forum.