The founder and president of the Virgin Group -- with ownership of some 200 companies in over 30 countries and interests in travel, tourism, and resorts on a few continents -- tells BlackBook about his humble beginnings, having luck on his side, hoping that airline hero Sully may join the team, and his obsession with sticky puddings.

How did you get your start in business?
I left school and started Student Magazine from out of a call box. It turned out to be the best decision I ever made. I found out that a lot of school was a waste of time for me. The magazine was my education. Then I started on the record side, and it turned out to be more fun. And that took over.

Right now, you’re in the air. What kind of phone are you using to make this call?
We’re basically using wifi, and by next month, we’ll be the only airline in the world with full Internet. You can use your Blackberry up here. Business people can spend their hours working, and kids will have access to the net.

Steve Haffner, the man behind the curtain at Kayak.com, reveals his jet-setting ways, mid-meeting bar games, and the destinations you should add to your globetrotting roster.

Where can we find you outside the office? I travel a lot, and I love the restaurant scene. La Esquina in New York is a great Mexican restaurant in the basement of a nondescript building. I like Rick Bayliss' place in Chicago, the Frontera Grill. I love the bar scene at the Sanderson Hotel in London. It's a good mix of Europeans, Russians, and the occasional expat.



Who do you admire in your industry? There are those larger than life types: David Neelman, who started jetBlue -- he's a serial airline launcher who has made money every time. He just launched Azul in Brazil last week, and he's amazing. Another is Jeff Boyd of Priceline, who has been there for eight or nine years. He took a nice little company and made it outperform everybody in the industry. Now it's worth $3.5 billion.



Filippo runs Le Baccante Tours, pretty much the finest custom tours in Italy. He’s a wine fanatic -- easy to see if you get him started on the topic, as his dark eyes get wide, and he starts emphasizing his words with fist pounds on the table. He’s a portable concierge, knowing exactly who to call if you want to stay in a private villa for a month, sample the best aperitivo in Milan, hit the hottest clubs in Turin, or the imbibe the newest wine bar in Florence. Le Baccante caters to a variety of interests: shopping, eating, partying ... whatever your pleasure, he knows how to feed it. He’s also supremely connected; he’s hosted private dinners in Salvatore Feragammo’s home, and can get you into the kitchen of any restaurant you care to name. You want this guy on speed dial if you’re in Italy.

Point of Origin: Florence, Italy. He spent five years working in London (hence his charming British English accent) and one year studying in Holland, which he touts as “the year of my life” -- perhaps due to the fact that 85% of the students were “beautiful women.”

Derek Lam began his career assisting Michael Kors in the 1990s. Since 2003, he's branched out with his own unique label, and has most recently been responsible for the Tod's ready-to-wear collection. His jet-setting lifestyle often finds him boarding planes for exotic locations around the world. So how does the womenswear designer brave a long flight, with all the crying babies and turbulence? Here, while discussing his new limited-edition travel kit for Kiehl's, Lam reveals the secret. Two words: Lip. Balm.

Lionel Ohayon's ICRAVE has designed and architected some of the coolest bleeding-edge restaurants, clubs, lounges, and hotels of recent years. From New York to Los Angeles, and Las Vegas to Miami, ICRAVE venues draw praise from nightlifers and aesthetes alike -- and Ohayon promises more to come.

Point of Origin: "I'm a French Moroccan Jew. I was made in Morocco, but born in Canada where I grew up and studied architecture at the University of Waterloo. After working and studying in Paris and Rome, I came to New York at the bequest of a client/friend who had recently gotten engaged to the daughter of a billionaire and needed help on a sprawling mansion. I never finished that project (I don't think it’s finished yet); it’s not destined for completion. But I did get a virus in my system called New York, and never left. New York is my junk."