Sir Richard Branson is the latest high profile figure to lend his name to the One Young World Summit this week.
Sir Richard joins as a Counsellor alongside Sir Bob Geldof, Muhammad Yunus, former UN Secretary-General and Nobel laureate, Kofi Annan, amongst others who will be appearing at the four-day event in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Richard Branson said he wants business to become a 'force for good'
Counsellors play a crucial role at the Summits, addressing delegates and leading the Summit's main Plenary Sessions.
The Virgin boss will lead an interactive Special Session after which a group of One Young World Ambassadors will join him on stage to present a new charter for business leadership.
Sir Richard says: “It will be a privilege to stand alongside these exceptional young leaders at the One Young World Summit 2013...We created the B Team to develop and implement a Plan B for business that puts people and planet alongside profit. I am excited to listen to and learn from the young leaders at One Young World to ensure business becomes a force for good.”
One Young World Counsellors and B Team members Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, Muhammad Yunus, founder of The Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation will be on stage to listen and learn from the One Young World Ambassadors.
One Young World co-founder, David Jones says: “Throughout his career, Sir Richard Branson has been a role model for responsible business, entrepreneurship and for mobilising business for social and environmental benefit.
"Through the B Team, he is now working with the other B Team leaders to focus his energies on getting millions of business leaders committed to a better way of doing business and I am delighted that he will be joining us in Johannesburg as a One Young World Counsellor.”