Name: Dan Schulman
Organization: Virgin Mobile
Location: UK, Australia, France, Canada, USA
Founded: 1999

With two kids involved in volunteering, a belief system strongly centered on earth stewardship, and a desire to provide youth with not only cell phones but a place to learn, grow, and take action, Dan Schulman's authenticity and drive shine through in his work for his company.

Formerly the CEO of Priceline.com, Mr. Schulman is now the CEO of Virgin Mobile, the cellular phone company that specifically works for youth ages 13 to 25. Since the company began, Schulman has been there. "It started from an idea about five years ago with only ten people, and, taken from that idea, it has grown into four million strong," Mr. Schulman told YouthNoise.

Primarily of youth demographic, Schulman says the company is very real and authentic, challenging customary things in the industry. "[Virgin Mobile is] very straightforward in pricing," Schulman says. His mission? To see that youth are able to get cellular phones without having to go through credit reports and wacko billing plans. His solution? Prepaid minutes.

While this plan hasn't been successful for other companies, it's been great for Virgin Mobile. The company knows what youths like and want in a phone provider, and they even promote youth through philanthropic ventures, such as Look-Look Magazine, and youth interests, like MTV and Comedy Central. "Look-look is a great partner," Schulman says. He points out that it's better to have authentic, real people in pictures that real youths are taking of each other instead of models. The content is tailored to the youth market, and customized through entertainment-that way, customers can customize their phones according to their personalities.

Making sure that VM stays conscious in its environmental and labor practices, Schulman is passionate in his drive to keep the company clean. They research "not just where [the phones are made] but also the packaging," he says. He hopes to be one of the first cell phone carriers to utilize packaging to send back old phones for upgrades or recycling. "We take on environmental issues both outside and inside," he adds, mentioning the office use of fair trade coffee, recycled paper, and making sure all computers are turned off when not in use.

These values are nothing new to Schulman. In fact, he lives them each day as an individual, raising his children to be good keepers of the planet. Each holiday season, he lets them both (ages 11 and 12) select a charity to give to as part of their gifts, and he encourages their volunteer work, such as in a special needs school. "I'm very proud of them both," he says fondly.

Mr. Schulman takes pride in the fact that Virgin Mobile is unlike other cell phone companies. Fun to work for, VM is "small, family oriented," and "takes on the big corporations," making it perfect for youths-and YouthNoise!

In an interview with BusinessWeek, Schulman said, "That market has very particular needs that aren't always met by postpaid plans. In fact, prepaid is the ideal solution for that customer set. First of all, many of them are in flux in their lives. They're either in college, they are just leaving their home, or they may be getting their first cell phone. They may not have credit yet or may be credit-challenged in some way. As a result, a prepaid cell-phone plan that doesn't require a credit check or doesn't require a contract to sign is very appealing." Completely in-tune with the needs and wants of the youth generation, Schulman has pioneered his company into the first company of this caliber-servicing youth, taking on youth issues, and letting youths be heard-literally!

By keeping his company and plans simple, affordable, and trendy, Schulman has led Virgin Mobile well into the world of youth. By keeping VM values strong and socially conscious, he's also made it the company to take on the world-with youth in the driver's seat. With flat rates, exclusive personalization features, and edgy phone styles, VM is a company for youth, featuring youth, and more subscribers adding on to their current four million every day, they're here to stay!