Mark Wood | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 71–72) County Durham, England, UK |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Chairman of Paternoster |
| Children | One son, two daughters |
Gregory Mark Wood CBE (born 1953 in County Durham) has been at the helm of several financial services and technology start-ups, both in the UK and New York City.
Wood began his career with the accountancy firm Price Waterhouse (PwC). He also held posts in Commercial Union, MAI plc, British & Commonwealth, and Barclays. [1]
After running the AA's insurance arm for three years, Wood was made chief executive of Axa Equity & Law. Buying into Sun Life put him in charge of a FTSE 100 company which subsequently bought Guardian Royal Exchange and set about integrating the group. [2] In 2001, Wood moved from Axa to join Prudential plc and became its UK and European Chief Executive. [3] In 2006, Wood's work in re-establishing Prudential plc as a leader in the UK insurance market became the subject of a case study by the International Institute for Management Development. [4]
In 2005 he founded and became chief executive of Paternoster; a regulated insurance company that takes on the risks associated with companies’ final salary/defined benefit pension schemes. The company received backing of £500 million, led by Deutsche Bank. In 2009, Wood became the deputy chairman.
He is chairman of Digitalis, which specialises in Online Reputation Management; [5] and audit committee chairman and non-executive director of the RAC Limited. [6] He was formerly chairman of Beta London Advertising and Lloyds Insurer Chaucer PLC. [7] He was CEO of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Employee Benefits [8] from 2011 to 2014. He is a regular commentator in the press on pensions and insurance. Wood is also chairman of PensionBee Limited, Acquis Insurance, Utility Bidder, and Leakbot. [9] [10]
In 2010, Wood received an honorary doctorate in business administration from Anglia Ruskin University. [11]
Wood is the former chairman of the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), serving for nine years until he left the role in October 2019. [12] [13] He also ran the Full Stop campaign to raise £280m through events such as a dinner with Bill Clinton and Elton John in St Petersburg. [14]
Woods is a Trustee at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, [15] and also sits on the Appeal Board of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. [16]
Wood was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to children and young people for his work with the NSPCC. [17]