book this speaker
JOHN WOOD
LEAVING MICROSOFT TO EDUCATE THE WORLD’S CHILDREN
At age 35, John left an executive career track at Microsoft Corporation to form Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that “combines the heart of Mother Theresa with the scalability of Starbucks” to help over one million children across the developing world break the cycle of poverty through the power of education. Razor-sharp business acumen honed at Microsoft, combined with a passion to change the world makes John Wood a unique, inspiring and popular speaker with universal appeal.
John founded Room to Read out of deep concern that nearly one billion people lack basic literacy. “I was blessed with a solid education which was a wonderful foundation for my future. As a result, I had a great career at a company that encourages people to dream big dreams. I started this nonprofit as a way to give that same foundation and opportunity to children in the world’s poorest places.” Since its start in 2000, Room to Read has sponsored the opening of more than 280 schools and 3,600 multi-lingual libraries across the developing world. The organization has distributed over 2.8 million children’s books and supports more than 2,300 girls with long-term scholarships. John describes these results as “total tip of the iceberg” as Room to Read plans to increase this literacy network to 20,000 libraries and schools serving at least 10 million children. The organization currently operates in eight countries in Asia and Africa, ranging from Cambodia to Nepal to South Africa and Zambia.
John raised over $25 million of financial commitments from a “standing start” and illustrates this experience in a recent memoir, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World (Harper Collins 2006), a book described by Publishers’ Weekly in a starred review as “an infectiously inspiring read.” Translated into 10 languages, it is popular with entrepreneurs, philanthropists, educators, and internationalists alike, voted by Hudson’s Books as a Top Ten Non-fiction title of 2006 and by Chapters.Indigo as one of their Top 100 Books of 2006. During his career at Microsoft, John ran significant parts of the company’s international business divisions, including positions as:
• Director of Marketing for the Asia-Pacific Division • Director of Marketing for Microsoft Australia • Director of Business Development for the Greater China region John holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. from the University of Colorado (magna cum laude).
Honors:
• Profiled by the Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) as one of “America’s Great Leaders” • Selected as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum (attendee of the Davos WEF Forum for the last three years) • Second recipient of the Draper Richards Fellowship, America’s largest fellowship for early-stage social entrepreneurs • Four-time winner of the Fast Company Magazine and Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award • Two-time winner of the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Innovation (grants of $200,000 and $1.2 million) • Time Magazine’s “Asian Heroes” Award, recognizing “20 People under 40 who have done something brave, bold, or remarkable” (the only non-Asian ever chosen for this honor) Recent Speaking Venues • The Power Within – September 2006 (Toronto, Canada) • Starbucks Corporation – September 2006 (Seattle, Washington) • Microsoft Corporation – September 2006 (Seattle, Washington) • Canadian Marketing Association – May 2007 (Ottawa, Canada) • California Assoc. for the Education of Young Children – March 2007 (San Jose, CA) • Borders Bookstore, Inc. – October 2006 (Rye Brook, New York) • Professional Businesswomen of California – November 2006 (Sacramento, California) • Council on Foreign Relations – Fall 2006 (Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C.) • Sand Hill Group – March 2004 (San Francisco, California)
Responses to John’s Speeches:
“John spoke at our 500-person Starbucks marketing conference and was an amazing inspiration to our global team. Here is someone who is literally changing the world, and he invites you to participate! He does so with humor, energy, and no guilt. If you want to hear a story that will end with a standing ovation, invite John to speak (and then donate to his organization)!” – Anne Saunders, Senior Vice President, Starbucks Coffee Company
“John is a breath of fresh air to executives and professionals who are typically caught up in their busy lives. He connects with people’s natural desire to do good for society. John was a big hit at our Software 2004 conference, where he received a standing ovation (the only one in the history of the conference) from over 1,000 CEO’s, VP’s, and venture capitalists. He is an engaging speaker who is guaranteed to make people passionate about life.” – MR Rangaswami, Founder and CEO, Sand Hill Group
Media
John’s work has been featured by a wide variety of major media outlets, including:
Broadcast:
o The Oprah Winfrey Show o CNN o CNN Headline News o Fox News o National Geographic Television o Star TV Asia o Bloomberg Television o CNBC, “Squawk Box” o PBS, “The Great Leaders” series o Good Morning Australia
Daily Newspapers:
o The New York Times o International Herald Tribune o The Wall Street Journal o Financial Times o Chicago Tribune o Washington Post o Boston Globe o San Francisco Chronicle o San Francisco Examiner o South China Morning Post o Singapore Straits Times o The Guardian (UK) o The Australian
Magazines:
o Time o Newsweek o Forbes o Fast Company Magazine o Town and Country o Travel and Leisure o San Francisco Business Times o Delta Airlines Sky Magazine
book this speaker
RECENTLY VIEWED
JOHN’S INFO
PROGRAMS/TOPICS
- Leadership
- Entrepreneurship
- Business
- Education and literacy
- Philanthropy and Women’s Empowerment
- Finding Your Passion in Life
- Thinking Big
