Josh Bayliss has been CEO of Virgin Group since 2011 and now also chairs Virgin Atlantic, overseeing a portfolio that spans an airline, a telecom business, a gym chain and space tourism. But the job that put him on that path almost didn't happen the way he expected. At 31, Bayliss arrived at Richard Branson's London mansion for what he thought would be a standard interview for a general counsel role. Branson, running late for another appointment across town, invited him along instead of postponing.
A 45-minute drive that became 2.5 hours
What was supposed to be a quick trip turned into a 2.5-hour traffic jam, and Bayliss used the unplanned time to talk through Branson's business philosophy in detail. He got the job. Now 53, Bayliss says the moment reflected exactly what he'd been looking for in his career. "I wanted to be making decisions. I wanted to take responsibility, and I wanted to be accountable for improving things," he has said of his motivation.
From a judge's clerk to Virgin's top job
Bayliss's path there wasn't obvious. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, to modest circumstances, he originally leaned toward science before shifting to the humanities, studying history and Spanish literature at the University of Auckland before earning a law degree. He started his career as a judge's clerk at New Zealand's Court of Appeal, then worked at law firms in Barcelona and London before joining Virgin in 2005. He credits curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to challenge conventional thinking for his rise, qualities he now looks for when hiring younger employees. On AI specifically, he takes a similar view to the one that shaped his own career: he sees it as a tool that enables better work, not a technology built to replace the people doing it.