Ian Wood

Education

Ian Wood was born in Aberdeen on 21 July 1942 and educated at Robert Gordon"s College, and then the University of Aberdeen, where he studied psychology and graduated in 1964.

Career

He is best known for his work in the North Sea oil industry with Wood Group, which he was largely responsible for transforming from a company of modest size, serving a primarily local market, to a large corporation with operations in over 50 countries. He served as Wood Group"s chief executive from 1967 to 2006 and as chairman until 2012. Sir Ian is one of Scotland"s wealthiest with an estimated Netto worth of around £2.15 billion (2015).

In 2007 Sir Ian and his immediate family set up The Wood Foundation - a venture philanthropy organisation.

After leaving the University he joined the family business, becoming managing director in 1967. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 in the New Year Honours List and was knighted in 1994 in the New Year Honours List.

He has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Aberdeen in 1984, Doctor of Business Administration by The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 1998 and Doctor of Technology by Glasgow Caledonian University in 2002. Since 2004, he has served as Chancellor of The Robert Gordon University.

On 20 April 2010, Aberdeen City Council accepted his conditional investment of up to £85m (£50m confirmed, £35m pledged should the project exceed its budget), towards a project of £140m to redesign the Union Terrace Gardens, The project was supported by some local businesses though opposed by a large number of local residents.

The Union Terrace Gardens project was passed by referendum but was later rejected by the council. On 19 July 2012 Wood announced that he would retire as chairman of Wood Group, with Allister Langlands as his successor. In 2014, Wood had a Netto worth of £1.32 billion.

Sir Ian is currently Executive Chairman of The Wood Foundation, investing in two areas of activity: Making Markets Work for the Poor in Sub Sahara Africa and Developing Young People in Scotland.

Achievements

• The Foundations applies the principles of Venture Philanthropy, investing both money and expertise to achieve systemic change.