Ian Wood was born on January 20, 1952 in Broken Hill, Zambia. He completed an Honours Degree in Business Studies in 1975 at the Polytechnic of Central London (now renamed Westminster University). 

On graduation he joined Bayer UK Ltd as a Marketing and Sales Assistant in the Rubber Chemicals Dept. In 1976 he moved to Bayer AG Headquarters in Germany. In 1979, Wood was appointed General Manager of the Chemicals Division in Bayer Malaysia. From 1985 to 1990, Wood was Product Manager and then Export Sales Manager, Asia Pacific in the Rubber Division in Bayer AG, Germany.   

In 1990, Wood was appointed General Manager of the Rubber, Surface Coatings and Inorganic Pigments Divisions of Bayer China in Hong Kong. He was then responsible for the support group of the Board Member for Asia Pacific, in the Corporate Center of Bayer AG, Germany. 

In 1999, Wood was General Manager Greater China, for the Specialty Products Division of Bayer in Hong Kong. From 2002 to 2004, Wood was appointed General Manager, ASEAN / ANZ for Bayer Chemicals GmbH.

Currently, Ian Wood is the Managing Director of LANXESS Pte Ltd in Singapore.

Ian Wood is married and has one son.