Businessman and philanthropist Sir Ian Wood dies aged 84
Businessman and philanthropist Sir Ian Wood dies aged 84
Craig Williams - BBC Scotland Mon, July 27, 2026 at 10:06 AM UTC
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The Aberdeen-based businessman and philanthropist Sir Ian Wood has died aged 84, his family has announced.
Sir Ian was one of the UK oil and gas industry's most respected leaders, who turned his family's fishing boat repair yard into a global engineering player in the North Sea and internationally.
He retired as chief executive in 2006 and a year later began concentrating on his charitable work, creating The Wood Foundation, which works on social and economic inequality, especially in Scotland and sub-Saharan Africa
His family said he died peacefully at home and they would remember his "kindness, generosity, determination and unwavering commitment to his family."
Sir Ian was one of Scotland's wealthiest people, with a personal worth estimated at £1.8bn.
Wood Group started as a family fishing business before Sir Ian took over in 1967.
Over the next decades, he formed a separate engineering company servicing the rapidly-growing North Sea oil business.
At its height, the Wood Group was valued at more than £5bn, carrying out work in the energy industry around the world. It went public in 2002 and was sold to a Dubai company last year.
Sir Ian, who retired as chairman of the group in 2012, was knighted in 1994 for services to the oil and gas industry and was later made a member of the Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry.
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Sir Ian's philanthropic work was carried out through the Wood Foundation, which he founded in 2007.
It is involved in a number of investments and charitable work around agriculture and conservation in east Africa, as well as projects in Scotland.
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The statement from Sir Ian's family said: "Sir Ian was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend.
"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."
First Minister John Swinney paid tribute to Sir Ian, describing him 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."
He said: "Through his leadership of Wood Group, he helped transform a modest family business into a global energy services company, playing a pivotal role in the growth of the North Sea oil and gas industry and establishing Scotland as a world-renowned centre of energy expertise.
He paid tribute to Sir Ian's "devotion" to his home city of Aberdeen, adding the businessman had championed "initiatives that have strengthened the North East of Scotland and supported the evolution of the region's economy through his tireless advocacy for economic development, innovation and opportunity."
Swinney also praised his work on the transition to a lower-carbon future, and his philanthropic work.
"Sir Ian Wood's legacy is one of enterprise, leadership and generosity. He has helped shape modern Scotland, strengthened its economy, advanced its energy industry and demonstrated the profound difference that purposeful philanthropy can make," he said.
Scottish Conservative MP for Aberdeen South, Douglas Lumsden, said:
"Scotland has lost a true guiding light of its business community. Sir Ian was a champion of everything North East, both as a paragon of its economy but also as a philanthropist who did so much good at home and abroad.
"He and his workers around the world forged an international reputation for excellence in energy.
"The Wood name also meant a helping hand to communities, wherever it went."
Source: “AOL Money”
