Leaving Microsoft To Change the World

John Wood discovered his passion, his greatest success, and his life’s work not at business school or helping lead Microsoft’s charge into Asia in the 1990s but on a soul-searching trip to the Himalayas. He made the difficult decision to walk away from his lucrative career to create Room to Read, a non-profit organisation that promotes education across the developing world. By the end of 2007, the organisation would have established over 5,000 libraries and 400 schools, and awarded long-term scholarships to more than 3,000 girls, giving more than one million children the lifelong gift of education. If you have ever pondered abandoning your desk job for an adventure and an opportunity to give back, Wood’s story will inspire you. He offers a vivid, emotional, and absorbing tale of how to take the lessons learned at a hard-charging company like Microsoft and apply them to the world’s most pressing social problems.

Author Biography

John spent most of his career running significant parts of Microsoft’s international business. At age 35, he chose to leave Microsoft in the middle of his career to focus on bringing educational opportunities to poor communities. His passion is to combine the lessons he learned in business with the compassion and service ethic found in the non-profit arena. John holds a B.S. from the University of Colorado and a MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.