Building the Branson Brand.(Lori Levin-Hyams, Virgin Group)

By Paige Albiniak

Virgin Group's Lori Levin-Hyams works for a CEO who's game for anything

Lori Levin-Hyams did not take the traditional path to becoming a brand builder. But then, what would you expect from a woman who built the brand of Sir Richard Branson, CEO of 350-company-strong Virgin Group, billionaire, aviator, owner of private islands and game parks, and world-record holder?

'I was never a traditional [public-relations] person or executive,' Levin-Hyams says. 'I didn't have formal training. I learned as we went, and that's how Virgin and