Michael M. Wood
Encyclopedia
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
. From 2006 to 2009 he was the United States Ambassador to Sweden
United States Ambassador to Sweden
The United States Ambassador to Sweden serves as the chief representative of the United States Foreign Service to the Kingdom of Sweden, and 1814 to 1905, also to Norway, which was politically aligned with Sweden...
.
Education
Wood attended Phillips AcademyPhillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, and received his bachelor's degree at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. At Yale he was a Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity brother of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Career
Wood is the co-founder and former CEO of Hanley Wood, LLC. He stepped down as CEO after the company was sold to JPMorgan Partners, however he kept a seat on the Hanley Wood board.On June 16, 2005, Wood was the recipient of the Top Executive of the Year Award from Media Business magazine.
Wood was co-founder and CEO of Hanley Wood LLC, the leading media company in the housing and construction industry and one of the ten largest business-to-business media companies in the U.S. Wood and private equity partner Veronis Suhler Stevenson sold Hanley Wood to JPMorgan Partners on August 1, 2005.
Wood was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
on June 5, 2006. Shortly after being sworn, he announced that his top priority was cooperation between the U.S. and Sweden in alternative energy technology. During his three years in Sweden he traveled to all 21 län (counties) looking for alternative energy companies that could benefit from cooperation with American venture capital and research institutions. The Ambassador’s list of the best of these Swedish companies contains 52 firms and the embassy estimates the resulting volume of activity between Swedish firms and US interests is $150–200MM. The most important results were in biofuels, automotive engine technology, and alternative jet fuel. He resigned on January 20, 2009, when President George W. Bush left office. He returned to private life and his work with Redwood Investments.
In recognition for this work, on May 4, 2009, the King of Sweden made Wood a Knight and Commander Grand Croos of the Royal Order of the Polar Star
Order of the Polar Star
The Order of the Polar Star is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim....
, an order of chivalry given by the Government of Sweden
Government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the supreme executive authority of Sweden. It consists of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. The Government is responsible for their actions to the Riksdag, which is the legislative assembly...
to people of foreign birth who make significant contributions to Sweden.
On February 6, 2009, in a ceremony at the House of Sweden in Washington, Wood was presented the William Wachtmeister Award for advancing Swedish-American relations. And on October 22, 2008, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson presented Wood the ESBRI
ESBRI
ESBRI - Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research Institute - is a Swedish autonomous institution which disseminates research-based knowledge on entrepreneurship, innovation and small business. ESBRI was founded in 1996 with a donation by Leif Lundblad, a Swedish inventor and entrepreneur...
Award for the person who has done the most for entrepreneurship in Sweden.
Personal
Ambassador Wood enjoys both mountain biking and golf. He often rides with President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. His golf handicap is 12. He and his wife, Judy, have two adult children: Mike and Kim, and four grandchildren.