Martin Wood has had a 25+ years career in industry largely in the automotive sector. He started his career at Ford Motor Company in the UK, taking positions in both Engineering & Manufacturing functions, working in new model development, test and launch. His experience was widened within the Commercial departments of Ford, taking management responsibility and operating in Eastern Europe & Africa. He subsequently joined the Ford Components Division during its spin out, becoming Visteon in 1997.

After Ford, Martin joined a major 1st Tier automotive supplier, Kostal GmbH & CO KG, becoming Sales & Marketing Director in 2001, and subsequently taking top management responsibility for Quality Assurance. Martin became CEO of the Kostal UK operation in 2005 with responsibility for all UK Engineering & Operational activities, and additionally responsible for Scandinavian customers.
Outside of the automotive sector Martin has performed leadership positions for other engineering businesses working in advanced manufacturing, in a number of different territories, markets and sectors.

In 2016 Martin joined UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI) Automotive Investment Organisation (AIO) as Business Development Director, with specific responsibility for the automotive supply chain and the reshoring activities driven by the Automotive Council. The AIO is now the Automotive Sector Team and part of the Department for Business & Trade (DBT), where Martin most recently had responsibility to lead efforts to attract investment into Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) supply chains.

In 2022 Martin joined the Office for Investment as Chief Advisor for Industrial Transformation, supporting the UK’s ambitions to achieve Net Zero.