John Wood

Founder of Room to Read, Author, Social Entrepreneur

Travels From Travels From:
San Diego, CA, USA
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John Wood Biography

John Wood is the Founder of Room to Read, an organization committed to transforming the lives of children in developing countries through literacy and gender equality in education. Since its inception, Room to Read has reached over 16.6 million children across 16 countries. At the age of 35, Wood left his role as Director of Business Development for Microsoft’s Greater China region to establish Room to Read. Nearly two decades later, his initiative has expanded to over 30,000 schools and communities, significantly impacting millions of lives through educational opportunities.

Wood authored the award-winning memoir "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World," which details his decision to leave his corporate career and focus on increasing global literacy and education. This memoir has won acclaim for its inspirational message and was selected by Amazon as one of the Top Ten Business Narratives of 2006. It has been translated into 20 languages and was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Wood's third book, "Purpose, Incorporated: Turning Cause Into Your Competitive Advantage," released in February 2018, argues for integrating purpose with profitability in business practices. It highlights companies successfully aligning these goals and contributes its profits towards opening libraries through Room to Read.

Among his numerous accolades, Wood has been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the world’s 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs and has spoken multiple times at the Clinton Global Initiative. He is also a five-time recipient of Fast Company Magazine’s Social Capitalist Award. Time Magazine honored him with the “Asian Heroes” Award, and he was named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. The Tribeca Film Festival's Disruptive Innovation Awards acknowledged him as a Lifetime Achievement Honoree, and in 2014, he received the prestigious World’s Children’s Prize from Queen Silvia of Sweden, often referred to as the Children’s Nobel Prize.

Wood holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado, and has been awarded honorary doctorates from institutions including McGill University and the University of San Francisco. He has served on several advisory boards, including the Clinton Global Initiative, and currently contributes to the advisory boards of Global Citizen Year, New Story, and Possible Health. Recognized as the “Andrew Carnegie of the developing world” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Wood’s commitment to educational access and equality continues to influence countless individuals globally.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 09/27/2024.

John Wood Speaking Topics

  • Re-Imagining Leadership

    As our world faces an unprecedented crisis of leadership, a "war for talent" rages, with the most visionary leaders building the most effective global teams. In this keynote, Wood inspires audiences to think differently and more boldly about what they can accomplish as leaders, talking candidly about his evolution as a leader, mistakes he's made along the way, and the lessons he's learned during two decades as a fast-rising Microsoft executive and as Founder of Room to Read.

  • Leaving Microsoft To Change The World

    John Wood's first-person account of following his passion and the lessons learned in doing so. It is a popular "inspiring close" or "bring people to their feet" dinner speech at corporate, industry, and education conferences.

  • Purpose: The New Competitive Advantage

    In this keynote, Wood discusses how corporate social responsibility represents the new competitive advantage; a way to re-engage customers and employees and improve the bottom line. He recalls his experiences using the ‘power of purpose’ to onboard resistant communities, motivate volunteers and enlist high-profile investors, while pointing to the growing number of corporations—like IBM and GE—that have begun building a ‘higher calling’ into their products and services. Wood demonstrates that “cause” is now the key to commercialism and inspires audiences to re-think old assumptions, dream big and take steps to align with the business world’s often-overlooked competitive advantage: purpose.

John Wood Videos

  • John Wood, Jr. speaks at the Aspen Institute's #WeaveThePeople ...
  • John Wood
  • Room to Read | John Wood & Saluom Lak

John Wood Books

  • Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy
    Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy
  • Leaving Microsoft to change the world: an entrepreneur's odyssey to educate the world's children
    Leaving Microsoft to change the world: an entrepreneur's odyssey to educate the world's children

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  • Where does John Wood travel from?

    John Wood generally travels from San Diego, CA, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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John Wood is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Re-Imagining Leadership, Leaving Microsoft To Change The World and Purpose: The New Competitive Advantage. The estimated speaking fee range to book John Wood for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. John Wood generally travels from San Diego, CA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Erin Gruwell, Hugh Evans, Linda Armstrong Kelly, Ralph Nader and Paul Orfalea. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling John Wood for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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