Wood began his engineering career in aerospace and optics and spent 22 years working in thermo electronics. During his tenure with the Thermo Electron Corporation, Wood served as President and CEO of Thermedics, Inc. and president of Peek, Ltd. – both companies part of Thermo Electron Corporation.
He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 1965 and completed his MS in Electrical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1967.