Sir Ian Clark Wood (born 21 July 1942) is a Scottish billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for his work in the

North Sea oil North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian ...

industry with

Wood Group John Wood Group plc, commonly known as Wood, is a British multinational engineering and consulting business with headquarters in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. As of February 2025, the group employs 35,000 people ...

, 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. Wood is one of Scotland's wealthiest people, with an estimated net worth of around £1.7 billion (2020). In 2007, Wood and his immediate family set up The Wood Foundation – a

venture philanthropy Venture philanthropy is a type of impact investment that takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals. The term was first used in 1969 by John D. Rockefeller ...

organisation.

Early life

Wood was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

on 21 July 1942 and educated at

Robert Gordon's College Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational private school for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6. History Background Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th cent ...

, and then the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, where he studied psychology and graduated in 1964.Robert Gordon University appoints Sir Ian Wood as new Chancellor
RGU News Release, 12 April 2004

Career

After leaving university he joined the family business, becoming managing director in 1967. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Aberdeen in 1984,

The Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU (), is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon (philanthrop ...

in Aberdeen in 1998,

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University, informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley (), is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and Glasgow Polytechnic (originally Glasg ...

in 2002, and

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

in 2012. Since 2004, he has served as

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the Robert Gordon University. In 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 Union Terrace Gardens is a public park and gardens situated on Union Terrace, Aberdeen, Union Terrace in Aberdeen, Scotland. The gardens The sunken gardens opened to the public in 1879, and cover approximately two and a half acres . The spac ...

, 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. In July 2012, Wood announced that he would retire as chairman of Wood Group, with Allister Langlands as his successor. In 2014, Wood had a net worth of £1.32 billion. Wood is chairman of The Wood Foundation, investing in two areas of activity: making markets work for the poor in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

and developing young people in Scotland. The Foundation applies the principles of venture philanthropy, investing both money and expertise to achieve

systemic change A structural fix refers to solving a problem or resolving a conflict by bringing about structural changes that change the underlying structures that provoked or sustain these problems. According to Thomas Heberlein such changes modify human behav ...

. Wood was promoted to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(GBE) in the

2016 Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to the oil and gas industry. In June 2018 he was appointed a

Knight of the Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

(KT) in the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by ci ...

. According to the ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and has been published as a magazine supplement by British national ...

'' in 2020, Wood is worth an estimated £1.7 billion, a decrease of £54 million on the previous year.

Chancellor of Robert Gordon University

Wood spent 16 years as head of Robert Gordon University, stepping down in 2021. In 2010

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

was awarded an honorary degree from the university. This provoked considerable opposition and the degree was removed after Dr David Kennedy returned his own degree in protest and journalist/campaigner Suzanne Kelly's petition opposing the award was signed by approximately 80,000 people. who felt Trump's behaviour was contrary to RGU's values.

Corporate tax arrangements

In 2011, Wood Group transferred North Sea staff to a company in a tax haven apparently to avoid employer national insurance contributions, a move criticised by Scottish politicians, while union official Jake Molloy described it as “morally and ethically contemptible”. Ian Wood retired from Wood Group the following year.uk-scotland-scotland-business-18899390

Personal life

Wood has three sons with his wife Helen, and six grandchildren. They have a second home at

Loch Tummel Loch Tummel (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Teimheil) is a long, narrow loch, northwest of Pitlochry in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is fed and drained by the River Tummel, which flows into the River Tay about south-east of the C ...

, Perthshire.

Honours and awards

*1982

(CBE) in the

*1984 Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LL.D.) degree from the

*1994

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

*1998 Honorary

Doctor of Business Administration The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is a terminal degree in business administration. The DBA is classified as a research doctorate or professional doctorate depending on the granting university and country where the degree was awarded. ...

(DBA) degree from

Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU (), is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon (philanthrop ...

*2002 Honorary

Doctor of Technology The Doctor of Technology, or Doctor of Engineering Sciences, or Doctor of Technical Sciences, or Doctor of Science (abbreviated and translated variously in different countries) is a degree normally conferred upon candidates after having completed a ...

(D.Tech.) degree from

*2012 Honorary

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering (DEng or EngD) or Doctor of Engineering Sciences is a research doctorate in engineering and applied science. An EngD is a terminal degree similar to a PhD in engineering but applicable more in industry rather than in ac ...

(D.Eng.) degree from

*2016

(GBE) in the

*2018

(KT) in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ian 1942 births Living people Businesspeople from Aberdeen People educated at Robert Gordon's College Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Knights of the Thistle Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People associated with Robert Gordon University Scottish chairpersons of corporations Scottish chief executives Scottish knights Scottish billionaires 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century British philanthropists