He took a family fishing boat repair yard and turned it into a £5bn global oil and gas empire. Sir Ian Wood, one of the UK's most respected energy industry leaders, has died aged 84, his family has announced.
The Aberdeen-based businessman transformed Wood Group from a modest family business into a global engineering powerhouse servicing the rapidly growing North Sea oil industry. He took over the firm in 1967, and under his leadership it went public in 2002 before being sold to a Dubai company last year.
“Sir Ian Wood, who built a £5bn oil engineering empire from a fishing boat repair yard, dies aged 84.”
Sir Ian retired as chief executive in 2006 and a year later began concentrating on philanthropy, creating The Wood Foundation. The foundation works on social and economic inequality, especially in Scotland and sub-Saharan Africa, and is involved in agriculture and conservation projects in east Africa.
He was knighted in 1994 for services to the oil and gas industry and later made a member of the Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry. At its height, Wood Group was valued at more than £5bn, carrying out energy work around the world.
His family said he died peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones. “Sir Ian was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend,” read a statement. “While many knew him as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and one of Scotland's most influential business leaders, those closest to him will remember above all his kindness, generosity, determination and unwavering commitment to his family.”
He is survived by his wife Helen, to whom he was married for 55 years, their three sons Nic, Graham and Garreth, and seven grandchildren.
First Minister John Swinney paid tribute, describing Sir Ian as “one of Scotland's most influential business leaders and philanthropists, a figure whose vision, determination and generosity have left a lasting mark on the nation and far beyond.” Swinney credited him with playing “a pivotal role in the growth of the North Sea oil and gas industry.”
Sir Ian was one of Scotland's wealthiest people, with an estimated personal worth of £1.8bn. His legacy lives on through the Wood Foundation and the engineering giant he built from a single boat repair yard.