Few individuals choose to walk away at the height of their corporate career to dedicate their life to a social cause.

At age 35, John Wood did just that - quitting his position as Microsoft's Director of Business Development for the Greater China Region in order to found Room to Read. He has never

looked back. In 1998, John took a vacation that changed his life. Trekking

through a remote Himalayan village, he struck up conversation with a schoolteacher, who invited John to visit his school. There, John discovered that the few books available were so precious that they were kept under lock and key - to protect them from the children! Fewer than 20 books, all backpacker cast-aways,

were available for more than 450 students.

THE INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT JOHN WOOD

John Wood was born in January 1964, in Hartford, Connecticut, where he spent his early childhood. His family

later settled in Athens, Pennsylvania, where he attended high school.[3] He holds a bachelor's degree from the

University of Colorado, and a master's degree in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of

Management at Northwestern University.[4]

From 1991-1999, John Wood worked as an executive for Microsoft. His positions included Director of Marketing for Australia, Director of Marketing for the Asia-Pacific region and Director of Business Development for Greater China.[5]

Leaving Microsoft to Change the WorldCover of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

Wood took a vacation from his work at Microsoft in 1998 to trek through the Himalayas.[5] While trekking, he met a “resource director” for the

schools in the Annapurna Circuit of Nepal, with whom he visited a primary school that contained 450 children and only a handful of books—none age-appropriate.[6] Upon seeing Wood's reaction to the lack of

books, the school’s headmaster suggested, "Perhaps, sir, you will someday come back with books," which inspired Wood to solicit book

donations from family and friends via email sent from an Internet cafe in Kathmandu.[7]

Leaving Microsoft was published by Harper Collins in August 2006. It was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007, with "Oprah's Book Drive" for Room to Read raising over $3 million. Leaving Microsoft has been published in 20 languages. It was named one of the Top Ten non-fiction books of 2006 by Hudson's Booksellers and a Top Ten business narrative by Amazon. The sequel will be published by Penguin in early

2013.

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. His charismatic presentations focus on leadership, entrepreneurship, business, education and literacy, philanthropy and women's empowerment, as well as

motivational messages about finding your passion in life, thinking big, and proving that anyone, with focused vision and determination, can make a significant impact on the

world.

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