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Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood The first significant hint of potential Oil & Gas Deposits in the North Sea emerged in August of 1959. While Ian was just beginning his second year at Aberdeen University, he came across an article in the local newspaper reporting Shell & Exxon had uncovered the vast Gronnigan gas field off the coast of Holland. While smaller Oil & Gas fields had been stumbled upon as early as the 1930s, none of them proved substan

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood Sir Ian may well have been given a knighthood, but it was upgraded significantly in 2018 at the personal request of Queen Elizabeth herself. 73. A Knight To Remember By June 2018, Sir Ian found himself six years into retirement from Wood Group, and had sold all of his shares in the business. He still held deep affection for the company, but his romanticised attachment had faded, and he was now fully immersed in phi

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood When Sir Ian Wood retired from Woodgroup around 2012 a book was given to him by then CEO Alistair Langlands, whereby some of the companies employees offered a great insight into working with Sir Ian. Weve popped some of them here. 70.  Memories From Wood Group  This chapter captures personal employee memories and stories from individuals who have worked alongside Sir Ian over the last 50 years.  Sir Ian was well li

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood Sir Ian Wood was far more hands on than we might realise. He personally put himself on the line by making those secret trips to Columbia to set up what would become the biggest Oil & Gas Deals in his companies history, weve extracted a small part from the book and published below. Extracted from the Book- Aberdeen's Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood Aberdeen's Billionaire 47.  Escobar’s Columbia For an ambitious oil servi

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood When Sir Ian Wood made his speech at Bill Gates's Billionaire event, he seized an opportunity to give it to the American Billionaires with both Barrels. He didn't shrink behind the podium, and told them what they really needed. the speech was really intended to help Bill Gates and Warren Buffet recruit some of those wealthy famous famous faces in the room to the Charity cause. Below is an extract from his speech. E

Extracted from the Book- Aberdeens Billionaire - Sir Ian Wood 64.  Donald Trumped  Sir Ian had always considered himself a good judge of character. His psychology degree had helped him navigate his way through life and people successfully. In 2010, Ian was 6 years into his Chancellery role at Robert Gordon University, and one of the perks of the role was the freedom to award an honorary degree to a person of his choice, the choice required to be approved by the committee but

NHS Grampian have been Involved in some questionable practices over the years, and have treated their employees with nothing but disrespect. They found a new Champion. Sir Ian Woods Wife. Lady Helen Wood. Extracted from the new book Sir Ian Wood Aberdeen's Billionaire 67.  Lady Helen Comes Of Age Sir Ian and his wife Lady Wood established a charitable foundation now known as the "Wood" foundation, to support various local and international charitable causes (A chapter which a

In 2008 Sir Ian Woods grip on the UK Oil Industry was coming to an end. A new upstart was on the horizon, and he was here to take Sir Ians Crown. Extracted from the new book Sir Ian Wood Aberdeen's Billionaire 61.  2010 Threats From The Shadows Since the mid-1970s, Sir Ian held the title “undisputed king of the UK's Oil & Gas Industry”. Nearly every CEO in every major oil company in the UK knew him personally and those who didn't were well aware of who he was. As the chairma

Sir Ian Wood is the largest living Philanthropist is Scotland having given away and Invested over £500m for his charities. he has achieved many things, amongst which he has taken nearly 60,000 tea farmers in Africa out of poverty. Below is an extract from the new book, Sir Ian Wood Aberdeens Billionaire. The below is an extract from the trip Sir Ian Wood made to Africa to be thanked by the tribal elders of Rwanda. Sir Ian was collected from the airport and closed the door in

Watch our 4 minute teaser documentary on the richest Businessman in the history of Aberdeen, Oil Tycoon Sir Ian Wood. EXTRACTED FROM THE BIOGRAPHY - SIR IAN WOOD ABERDEENS BILLIONAIRE WHAT DO YOU GET THE ABERDONIAN MAN IN YOUR LIFE THIS CHRISTMAS? A word from our sponsor Billionaire industrialist Sir Ian Wood stands as the wealthiest homegrown founder of a company in Scotland. When he stepped down from the helm in 2013, his creation—Wood Group plc—had grown into a global powe

1986 saw the biggest economic crash in Scottish history when Oil prices plunged from $34 per barrel to under $8. 70% of businesses in Aberdeen went bankrupt and the Oil Industry lost nearly 100,000 jobs. through the eyes of Aberdeen company Woodgroup. This is that story. Exatracted from the amazing new book - Sir Ian Wood - Aberdeens Billionaire. Oil Titan 35.  1986 Goodbye Papa John On a cold frosty weekend of the 12th of January 1986, Ian stood alone looking down at his fat

Aberdeenshire in Scotland is a peaceful and relatively crime free area. However history has seen its involvement in some of the most notorious murder cases in British Legal History. We highlight 10 of them below, in no particular order. NO1 The murder of Dr. Brenda Page was a high-profile Aberdeen cold case from 1978 that was finally solved in 2023 with the conviction of her ex-husband, Christopher Harrisson.  Details of the Case Victim: Dr. Brenda Page, a brilliant 32-year-o

Outside of the old firm, Aberdeen Football Club have the most illustrious history in Scottish Football. Although Aberdeen football clubs greatest days have now faded off into a great and distant past, lets go through us through the greatest servants Aberdeen football  club has ever seen. Our list is not limited only to players, but anyone who represented the club. A number of names are absent, and perhaps should have featured in our top ten, however we have tried not to upset

Due to the release of the Incredible new book on the life of Aberdeen's Billionaire Sir Ian Wood. Below is a list of the preferred actors to play him in the movie of his amazing life. 2. Liam Neeson (Northern Irish) Why He’s Suitable Brings quiet strength and an intellectual intensity. Has a commanding presence without being explosive — aligns well with Wood’s reputation for calm leadership. Strong track record in biopics and real-life portrayals. Potential Limitations Accent

Petrofac - The Intrigue of collapse? Petrofac was founded in 1981 by Ayman Asfari, the son of a diplomat and a Syrian businessman. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Asfari began his career as a consulting engineer, testing soil for large-scale industrial buildings. Coming from a wealthy family, he later attended the prestigious Wharton School in New York—the same institution attended by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Originally established as a manufa

Youve just logged into your computer, but have you ever wondered how exactly did you get here?.  This is WoodGroup History Week and were...

On January 24, 2025, Aberdeen's billionaire philanthropist, Sir Ian Wood, officially stepped down from the charity he founded, The Wood...