No business leader has shaped the north-east economy more profoundly than Sir Ian Wood. To many who worked alongside him, Sir Ian was more than a boss. Wood Group growthWhen Sir Ian took control as managing director in 1967, the firm employed around 600 people and was already one of Scotland’s largest engineering businesses. Wood Group grew to become one of the UK’s biggest energy services groups in the years that followed. Following the Piper Alpha disaster, in which Wood Group employees lost their lives, Sir Ian also made safety a defining principle of the business.