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 Sea and ...

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 well as being a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. ...

, 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 I ...

organisation.

Early life

Wood was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

on 21 July 1942 and educated at

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

, and then the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours and was

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

in the 1994 New Year Honours. 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 (philanthropist), ...

in Aberdeen in 1998,

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), 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 G ...

in 2002, and

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) 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 subsequently granted univ ...

in 2012. Since 2004, he has served as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

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 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The gardens The sunken gardens opened to the public in 1879, and cover approximately two and a half acres . The space is bounded to the nort ...

, 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, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

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 Heberlein such changes modify human behavior by ...

. 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(GBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the oil and gas industry. In June 2018 he was appointed

Knight Companion 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 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 ...

. 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 published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

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

Wood: RGU head who handed honorary degree to Donald Trump

Ian Wood spent 16 years as head of Robert Gordon University, stepping down in 2021. During his tenure, Donald Trump was controversially awarded an honorary degree personally conferred on him by Sir Ian in 2010. The degree was removed after Dr David Kennedy returned his own degree in protest and journalist/campaigner Suzanne Kelly's petition was signed by approximately 80,000 people. who felt Trump's behaviour was contrary to RGU's values.

Controversial Wood Group Tax move

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 th ...

, Perthshire.

Honours and awards

*1982

(CBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours *1984 Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

(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 orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the 1994 New Year Honours *1998 Honorary

Doctor of Business Administration The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is either a professional doctorate or a research doctorate, depending on the granting university, awarded on the basis of advanced study, examinations, project work, and research in business administrat ...

(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 (philanthropist), ...

*2002 Honorary

Doctor of Technology The Doctor of Technology (abbreviated variously in different countries) is a degree normally conferred upon candidates after having completed a course of study in technology and a dissertation or a project of lengthy duration in a technologically r ...

(D.Tech.) degree from

*2012 Honorary

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering, or Engineering Doctorate, (abbreviated DEng, EngD, or Dr-Ing) is a degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and a practical project in the engineering and applied science for solving problems in the industry. In the ...

(D.Eng.) degree from

*2016

(GBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours *2018

(KT) in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ian Living people People 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 chief executives Scottish knights 1942 births Scottish billionaires 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople Giving Pledgers 21st-century philanthropists