Justice Champion Spotlight: Virgin Unite CEO & President Jean Oelwang!

What is Virgin Unite? 

Virgin Unite is an entrepreneurial, collaborative engine that changes unacceptable issues and systems for good. Working with partners, we have incubated initiatives like The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (now merged with RMI), and several others.  We also lift great impact entrepreneurs and shout about broken systems like the death penalty.  At our heart is an extraordinary community committed to bringing together the best of the business and not-for profit sectors to help people and the planet thrive. 

Through Virgin Unite, you have helped build mobile phone companies all over the world. What are some of the most important lessons learned? How have they informed your work at Unite? 

 One of the most important lessons I learned was the power of business to scale positive change.  For example, when we launched pre-paid services in South Africa (yes I’m that old) it created a new industry for entrepreneurs in the townships overnight.  People were selling calls out of trailers, out of briefcases, from their homes.  It was a very big awakening for me about the role that business can play in giving people the tools to lift themselves out of poverty. The mobile phone also became a bank, a doctor, basically a lifeline in your pocket.  This intersection of business and impact is so powerful and we are literally only seeing the tip of the iceberg.   

What role do businesses and their leaders play in creating a fairer and more equal society? How has that role evolved in recent years?

In the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, when people around the world were asked which institutions are both ethical and competent, business and not-for-profits came out on top.  People are putting their trust in business leaders to do the right thing.  Playing a role in creating a fairer and more equal society is no longer a “nice to have” – it is an imperative for businesses who want to survive. There is no way that any one sector is going to tackle our interconnected global issues.  We need to radically collaborate at a scale we can’t even begin to imagine. Business can and must help lead that charge. 

In your experience, what are some of the most important practical steps businesses can take? How can they meaningfully put people and the planet at their core? 

The first step a business needs to take is to listen authentically to all their stakeholders to understand what they are doing right – and what needs to be fixed.  Changing business for good needs to be woven through everything a company does, not just tacked on for publicity.  It has to be a core part of a company’s mission so that every decision is made through the lens of people and the planet.  Companies have a tremendous opportunity to meet customer expectations and go well beyond their core business to maximise the positive impact they can have in the world. Business leaders need to have the moral courage to step up and shout about unacceptable issues and to change the broken systems.  Silence is no longer an option.  We are running out of time in this decisive decade that will determine the future we will leave for generations to come. Every business has an important sphere of influence that can be sparked to mobilise their communities for good. 

In your opinion, what is the most glaring justice issue facing the world today? How can corporations help confront it? 

The most glaring justice issue is inequality.  As the gap has grown, it has dehumanised people and allowed many of those with wealth to live in bubbles of comfort, cut off from the burning issues in the world and in their own backyard.  In a wealthy country like the United States, over 38 million people are food insecure, yet we spend millions to hold the notorious position as the country that incarcerates the highest number of its citizens.  We also spend millions to continue the outdated, barbaric, ineffectual death penalty. 

Corporations can level the playing field.  They can start by ensuring they have fair pay and generous benefits for their teams to give people the chance to live a life of dignity. They can also change the systems that perpetuate the growing gap and ensure everyone a fair go.

Nelson Mandela used to say that you can judge a nation by how they treat people in their prisons. With this metric, the US would not be judged very kindly. We can do something to change this.  The justice system is one we can course correct by working with government and not-for-profits to reduce incarceration levels, to give people who are coming out of prison a meaningful job, to stop broken systems like bail, and to end the death penalty. Ultimately we need to treat each other like human beings rather than statistics. 

You've worked on so many incredible initiatives over the past three decades. Which work are you proudest of, and why? 

The best bit about Unite is that we never do anything alone, we always collaborate with partners.  This richness and depth of different people and organisations doing something meaningful together has been intoxicating. Shared pride is priceless. The Elders is an initiative that I feel can play a critical role in this deeply divided and fearful world.  I’m also proud that Unite tackles completely unacceptable and outrageous issues like the death penalty.  I’ve been in awe of the community that has been tirelessly working to stop this practise for decades and feel deeply honoured that we’ve had the chance to partner with RBIJ, Bryan Stevenson and Anthony Ray Hinton, Sister Helen Prejean, and others who are the real heroes in this world. 

You recently published a book! Can you tell us a bit more about it? 

One of the most dangerous ideas of our time is hyper-individualism.  It has pushed us into winning at all costs and separated us from one another.  I believe we have an opportunity for a relationship reset, and it has to start with learning how to build deep connections in our lives.  It is these meaningful connections that allow us to become our very best selves, and that are also at the centre of most great human achievements, like ending apartheid and closing the ozone hole.  I spent the last 15 years interviewing sixty of the world’s best partnerships and collaborations.  Their 1,500 years of partnership wisdom is synthesised into practical ways to build deep connections in our own lives, called the Six Degrees of Connection.  These degrees are explored in my book, Partnering: Forge the Deep Connections That Make Great Things Happen.

When you aren't working to build partnerships and incubate ideas to create a better world, what else do you enjoy? 

 As a collaboration architect, I’m happiest when I’m building new ideas with a great group of people.  I also love learning from and being immersed in nature.  Whether that is scuba diving in the other worldly ocean, riding my bike and running to discover new parts of the world, or simply revelling in the gift of being so close to another being when I’m walking our dog Ruby in the mountains. 

What is one surprising fact about you? 

I’m happiest 30+ feet under the surface of the ocean.