Signatories

Richard Branson is a British businessman and philanthropist. In 1970, he founded the now ubiquitous Virgin as a mail order music record retailer, and not long afterwards opened a record shop in London. The Virgin Group has now expanded into international music megastores, air travel, mobile phones, finance, retail, internet, drinks, rail, hotels and leisure, with approximately 200 companies in over 30 countries.

Branson has also innovated in the world of the philanthropy, sponsoring The Virgin Earth Challenge, a prize to spur technical innovation to address climate change. He is a founder of The Elders, a collection of world leaders working to address difficult global challenges.