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Press Release – For Immediate Release

Business Chicks welcomes Sir Richard Branson to Melbourne

Sydney, Australia, 23 June 2011 – Business Chicks, the leading independent community and network for professional women in Australia, welcomes Sir Richard Branson back to the Business Chicks Breakfast series on Friday, 8 July 2011 in Melbourne. 

Over 1,650 guests will join internationally renowned entrepreneur and billionaire Sir Richard for breakfast at the Crown Palladium where he will be interviewed by Carrie Bickmore, star of Network Ten’s popular show The 7pm Project.  Already boasting an established rapport with Sir Richard, Carrie will be sure to extract the business secrets we all want to know from the international business superstar. Business Chicks and their guests will be privy to the behind-the-scenes challenges, crisis points and triumphs in the personal journey of this visionary who has achieved phenomenal business success.

Sir Richard Branson, who recently launched the Virgin Australia airline brand in Australia, spoke with the Sydney Business Chicks community in 2010 and joins a long list of past guest speakers including Olivia Newton-John, Napoleon Perdis, Layne Beachley, Professor Fiona Wood and Li Cunxin from Mao’s Last Dancer. 

Emma Isaacs, Chief Chick of Business Chicks said “We’re so delighted to have Sir Richard back with Business Chicks and to once again engage and inspire our Business Chicks members across Australia with world class speakers.  It’s such a great forum for entertaining guests and rewarding staff without eating into the working day - and above all, it’s fun.”

The Breakfasts complement Business Chicks events held across Australia for the 25,000 strong Business Chicks community, which include lunch and learn sessions, professional networking evenings and workshops such as the “Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office” Sydney workshop held in June with Dr Lois Frankel who wrote the bestselling book of the same name.

Emma continued “With our values being to learn and grow, to meet like-minded people and to give something back, our events are a great forum for our Members to network, connect, have unique experiences and make their lives that little bit better.”  Business Chicks has raised over $780,000 for the children’s charity Kids Helpline and will be helping Sir Richard raise funds for his non-profit foundation, Virgin Unite, during the Melbourne breakfast.

Whilst the Business Chicks Breakfast with Sir Richard Branson is completely sold out, you can join Business Chicks in Sydney at the Business Chicks Breakfast with Gold Medalist and Biggest Loser host Hayley Lewis (Friday, 12 August) and in Adelaide for the Business Chicks Breakfast with South Australian of the Year, Maggie Beer (Thursday 18 August).  Tickets for the events can be purchased from the Business Chicks website at http://www.businesschicks.com.au.

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Media Enquiries:  Jules Alexander: 0449 858596

About Business Chicks

Business Chicks is Australia's largest community for women in business with over 25,000 members nationally. We connect Australian business women through our online member community, national events program, fundraising efforts, Latte magazine, strategic partnerships and other initiatives. 

Our aim is to be the “must-have” membership for all women in business and we offer memberships for individuals, small business, corporates and students. 

For more information on Business Chicks please visit www.businesschicks.com.au or contact info@businesschicks.com.au.  You can also find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/businesschicks) and on Twitter (www.twitter/businesschicks).

About Sir Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson is Founder of the Virgin Group. Virgin is one of the world’s most recognised and respected brands and has expanded into many diverse sectors from air and ground travel to telecommunications, health, space travel and renewable energy through more than 200 companies worldwide, employing approximately 50,000 people in 29 countries.

In 2004, Richard established Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. It mobilises the talent and resources from across the Virgin Group and beyond, to tackle tough social and environmental problems in an entrepreneurial way. It is built on the belief that, the only way we can address the scale of the challenges facing the world today is by revolutionising the way businesses and the social sector work together – driving business as a force for good. Virgin Unite works with the Virgin businesses to put people and planet at their core. Richard has been working closely with Virgin Unite to bring together the right partners to help create new global leadership models to address conflict, climate change and disease.

Richard and his close friend, Peter Gabriel, had an idea about the need for a new leadership model for our ‘global village’. Inspired by the role that elders play in traditional societies, as a source of advice, wisdom and experience, they took the idea to Nelson Mandela and were thrilled when he agreed to help bring a group of ‘global elders’ together. Founded in 2007 with the support of Virgin Unite and a great group of partners, The Elders comprises ten visionary leaders including Graça Machel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and President Carter. They work both publicly and behind the scenes, collectively and individually, in areas of conflict such as; Kenya, Cyprus, Darfur and Zimbabwe and also work on a number of global issues, such as health and gender equality.

In 2009, Richard brought together a group of the world’s top entrepreneurs to initiate the Carbon War Room. The vision is to mobilise capital, innovation, expertise and international collaboration to increase the effectiveness of climate change efforts already underway and to focus on filling any gaps. These keen entrepreneurial minds will work together to help speed and scale solutions that will deliver a low carbon economy.

Richard and Virgin Unite also support a number of initiatives that lead to economic empowerment and healthy communities. These initiatives range from; the creation of sustainable healthcare models in Africa, to supporting young entrepreneurs through the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in South Africa, to creating opportunities for vulnerable and at-risk young people in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Richard is married to his wife Joan and they have two children, Holly and Sam.