Mark Wood (businessman)

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]