Jean Oelwang

Jean Oelwang is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite, an entrepreneurial foundation that builds collectives, incubates ideas, and re-invents systems for a better world.

Over the last 15 years, she has worked with partners to lead the incubation and start-up of several global initiatives, including The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (successfully merged with the Rocky Mountain Institute), Ocean Unite, The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, 100% Human at Work, The Virgin Unite Constellation and The Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship. She also played a key partner role in incubating many other initiatives, such as The Audacious Project and The New Now.

Over the last three decades, Oelwang has helped corporations put the well-being of people and the planet at their core. She has worked with over 25 Virgin businesses across 15 industries to help embed purpose in all they do. Jean also served as a Partner in the Virgin Group, leading their people strategy.

Oelwang spent eighteen years living and working on six continents, starting and helping lead mobile phone companies in South Africa, Colombia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and the US. Prior to starting Virgin Unite, she was the joint CEO of Virgin Mobile in Australia.

Oelwang has long explored the overlap of the business and social sectors and has been involved in both. She has worked for the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife in Australia and in numerous volunteer roles, including a year-long stint as a VISTA volunteer, where she worked with—and learned from—homeless teens in Chicago.

She holds several advisory board roles, including The Elders, The NewNow, the Sara Blakely Foundation, Humanity 2.0, the Penn State Board of Visitors, and the boards of Rocky Mountain Institute, The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, Ocean Unite, AID Live, Unite BVI Foundation, and Just Capital. She is also honored to be a B Team Leader.

Oelwang has been on the TED and TEDx stages as a host and speaker and has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Bernie Glassman Trailblazer Award and the FilmAid Philanthropic Leadership Award.