Entrepreneur. Born in Aberdeen, where he was educated at Robert Gordon's College and the University of Aberdeen, Wood joined the family fishing and fishing-fleet engineering business. As its Chief Executive from 1964, Wood grew JW Holdings to become the largest fishing company in Scotland and brought about its diversification into oilfield services on the back of the North Sea oil boom of the 1970s. He created the separate Wood Group and built this up to become a global energy services supplier, now with more than 55,000 employees in 60 countries, operating across oil and gas, mining, renewables and infrastructure, with revenues exceeding £7.5 billion. He retired from Wood Group in 2012 although remains Chairman of JW Holdings. Wood is one of Scotland's richest men, worth around £1.8 billion (2019). He created the Wood Foundation which supports education, empowerment and economic development in Scotland and around the world.
He was awarded a CBE (1982), was knighted in 1992 and was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2019. He hold honorary degrees from the University of Aberdeen (1984), Robert Gordon University (1998), Glasgow Caledonian University (2002), Heriot-Watt University (2012) and University of Strathclyde (2013). He was appointed Chancellor of Robert Gordon University in 2004.
