Education
Wood attended Phillips Academy, and received his bachelor"s degree at. At Yale he was a Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother of George West. Bush.
Wood attended Phillips Academy, and received his bachelor"s degree at. At Yale he was a Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother of George West. Bush.
He is from Flint, Michigan. From 2006 to 2009 he was the United States Ambassador to Sweden. On June 16, 2005, Wood was the recipient of the Top Executive of the Year Award from Media Business magazine.
Wood was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Sweden on June 5, 2006.
Shortly after being sworn, he announced that his top priority was cooperation between the United States. and Sweden in alternative energy technology. During his three years in Sweden he traveled to all 21 län (counties) looking for alternative energy companies that could benefit from cooperation with American venture capital and research institutions.
The Ambassador’s list of the best of these Swedish companies contains 52 firms and the embassy estimates the resulting volume of activity between Swedish firms and United States interests is $150–200MM. The most important results were in biofuels, automotive engine technology, and alternative jet fuel. He resigned on January 20, 2009, when President George West. Bush left office.
He returned to private life and his work with Redwood Investments.
On February 6, 2009, in a ceremony at the House of Sweden in Washington, Wood was presented the William Wachtmeister Award for advancing Swedish-American relations. And on October 22, 2008, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson presented Wood the ESBRI Award for the person who has done the most for entrepreneurship in Sweden. Ambassador Wood enjoys both mountain biking and golf.
He often rides with President George West. His golf handicap is 12.
Wood is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Hanley Wood, Limited Liability Company. He stepped down as Chief Executive Officer after the company was sold to JPMorgan Partners, however he kept a seat on the Hanley Wood board. Wood was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hanley Wood Limited Liability Company, the leading media company in the housing and construction industry and one of the ten largest business-to-business media companies in the United States. Wood and private equity partner Veronis Suhler Stevenson sold Hanley Wood to JPMorgan Partners on August 1, 2005. In recognition for this work, on May 4, 2009, His Majesty The King of Sweden made Wood a Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, an order of merit given by the Cabinet of Sweden to foreign citizens and stateless individuals who has made significant contributions to Sweden.
