Jean Oelwang

Jean Oelwang is a self-proclaimed nomad who loves adventure and believes that business can be a force for good in the world. As the CEO of Virgin Unite, Oelwang leads the entrepreneurial foundation that works with 200 businesses and entrepreneurs around the world to help drive positive change. Virgin Unite also works to create new approaches to social and environmental issues, as exemplified by a school of entrepreneurship for young people in Johannesburg, South Africa, and an entrepreneurial approach to rural health transport in Kenya. Oelwang’s team helped to incubate a number of global leadership initiatives, such as the Elders, the Disease Control Hub in sub-Saharan Africa and the Carbon War Room. In her previous life, Oelwang helped with mobile phone start-ups in South Africa, Colombia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and the U.S. She has worked in numerous volunteer roles, including a stint as a VISTA volunteer where she worked with—and learned from—homeless teens in Chicago.