Holly Branson

Holly Branson was born in the year 1981 to English business magnate and philanthropist Sir Richard Branson and Joan Templeman. She has a younger brother named Sam. In spite of coming from an influential family, both Holly and Sam had a normal childhood. What is even more interesting to note is the fact that despite having the likes of Janet Jackson, Rolling Stones and Boeing owner in and out of their house regularly, Holly never thought of her family as famous and well-renowned. It was only eventually that the feeling started to sink in as she realized her father’s iconic status.

Holly spent much of her formative years between London, Oxford and British Virgin Islands. After completing her higher education from St Edward’s School Oxford, Holly enrolled at the University College London for a medical degree. She also practiced as a junior doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital before being absorbed at her father’s business empire.

Talking of Holly’s personal life, she was committed to her long-time beau, Freddie Andrews. The two formalized their relationship by taking the vows on December 20, 2012 at the family-owned Necker Island. After struggling for more than two years and going through two miscarriages and two failed IVF attempts, Holly and Freddie were finally blessed with twins, a daughter and son, on December 2015. The news of her pregnancy brought a sense of ecstasy and joy to the couple. Her struggle to conceive brought out a new unexplored side of Holly. She realized the pain that women facing similar struggle generally go through and bared her soul through her debut book ‘Weconomy’.

Fame, prominence and distinction was not something unattainable for Holly Branson – in fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she was born with it, in the ‘Virgin’ Branson family. However, her elite social status and family-owned business empire did little to swerve Holly from building an individuality of her own. Her intense desire to becoming a doctor as a child, led her to pursue a degree in medicine from University College London. Upon receiving the degree, she worked as a junior doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. However, life turned for young Holly when he father made her an unputdownable offer - to spearhead ‘Business As A Force For Good’ approach from within the family business.

By then, Virgin Group that had become one of the world’s most trusted and recognized brands with a $24bn dollar international value was spreading its wings further. Holly interned at all the Virgin companies in sectors ranging from mobile telephony, travel, financial services, leisure, music, holidays and health and wellness. It was almost a year later that Holly Branson joined the senior team at Virgin Management. Holly’s vision for Virgin has been to drive the company forward by embedding a heart in it and in turn, make an impact in the world. She is actively involved in the growth of businesses including Virgin Hotels.

Currently, Holly shuffles her time between working on specific projects and new business launches in the Virgin Group Senior team, and chairing Virgin Unite, company’s non-profit foundation. Other than this, she actively supports social enterprises and charitable work around the world. She is a trustee of Big Change, a charity that she initiated with her brother, Sam and few friends to improve the lives of young people in UK. Additionally, she is a Patron of Free the Children UK, Co-Chair of We Day UK, and a Patron and creator of Virgin Money Giving.