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Ross can't stop raving about the Virgin culture - she refers to it in almost every personal and every business experience she relates. Of course, Virgin is well-known for provoking its staff to such eulogies. But somehow, you get the feeling her enthusiasm is absolutely sincere - and, given what the Branson empire has done for her career so far, perhaps unsurprising.

Plucked from a South African ad agency to run Virgin's US drinks marketing, Ross has since risen through the ranks at a rapid pace, moving swiftly from cola to student marketing to mobile telecoms. After a year as international marketing director for Virgin Mobile, she has been handed the task of launching Virgin Mobile into the US.

According to some Virgin-watchers, Sir Richard Branson is pinning his hopes on the mobile business to shore up the rest of the Virgin empire, as other ventures struggle and his airline continues to recover from September 11. The ability to launch successfully into the US market is therefore vital. Ross herself describes Virgin Mobile USA as "probably the most important venture for the Virgin Group in the past two years".

Virgin Mobile USA was launched with great fanfare by Branson in New York's Times Square in July, followed that night with what Ross describes as a "true Virgin-style party". As in the UK, its strategy is to establish itself as a virtual network operator, in a joint venture with US telephony company Sprint. Virgin has put around £77m into creating the venture and hired Leagas Delaney as its US ad agency.

Ross' brief includes overseeing all aspects of the marketing roll-out, including a major strategic relationship that the brand has struck with MTV in its efforts to crack the US mobile youth market. The brand aims to position itself as the pioneer of pay-as-you-go, with a package aimed at 15- to 30-year-olds. Ross says the US is "about five to six months behind the UK market. It has been mainly focused on corporate, with a very post-pay mindset".

An important part of her brief is to be Virgin's US brand custodian, responsible for ensuring the consistency of the brand with its other markets and instilling the Virgin ethos and culture among its employees and partners.

This is familiar territory to Ross. In her previous role as Virgin Mobile's international marketing chief, she worked with national marketing teams and agencies to develop a local look and feel consistent with the brand.

"We are looking at an approach that is global, but which is entrepreneurial in each market and has local flavour."

But the basics of Virgin Mobile's proposition remain the same, says Ross.

It is about demystification, making the package simple, transparent and easy to use. She adds: "There is also a large dose of humanity and humour - and the product proposition is that the more you talk, the cheaper it gets. And there's a real customer focus to the brand - we approach the market more from a consumer point of view than a telecoms point of view."

But cracking the US market could pose a major challenge. Despite the familiarity of the Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Megastore brands in certain cities, communicating the brand to middle America - which doesn't necessarily appreciate the irreverent Branson approach - will not be so easy.

Having worked on Virgin Cola's US launch, Ross knows this all too well.

"The sassy sexiness of the Virgin brand in the UK is sometimes a little tougher to communicate here," she admits. "We go as far as we can, but it is not as wild as in the UK. I would rather die than say we would dilute the brand, so we just hold back a little."

Ross' Virgin career took off while she was working at TBWA in her native South Africa. Her insight into the youth market impressed Virgin Cola's then marketing director, James Kydd, so much in a pitch for Virgin Cola, that he hired her to help launch the drinks business in the US. Kydd, now brand director at Virgin Mobile UK, describes Ross as "the most enthusiastic person I've ever met". He adds that her enthusiasm "translates into passion for doing something that she believes in. She's also good at arousing other people to fulfil their potential."

After the Cola launch, Ross was hand-picked by Virgin's HQ to set up a new Virgin business, Virgin Student. She was charged with recruiting a team of student brand manager' to promote both Virgin, and other youth brands, on campus. "It was an opportunity to build a brand from scratch within the Virgin business; probably the thing I am most proud of in my life," says Ross.

So just what is it about Virgin? "Virgin's not just a logo - it's the kind of office you work in, the environment, the staff, the recruitment - it's about building a family. It's about treating your business partners properly and with respect, and making you part of their team and their vision. And the senior people are really accessible. I can go up and ask Richard Branson for a ten-minute chat any time. For me, that is really walking the talk."

BIOGRAPHY
1998-1999: Vice-president of marketing, N America, Virgin Drinks USA
1999-2001: Managing director, Virgin Student
2001-2002: International marketing director, Virgin Mobile International
2002-present: Vice-president of marketing, Virgin Mobile USA