Graeme Wood (businessman) explained

Graeme Wood
Birth Name:Graeme Thomas Wood
Birth Place:Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Occupation:Entrepreneur

Graeme Thomas Wood (born 1947)[1] is an Australian digital entrepreneur, philanthropist and environmentalist. He founded the websites Wotif.com[2] and The Global Mail. Wood has also invested in The Guardian Australia.

Career

Wood founded The Global Mail, a not-for-profit multimedia site for journalism in the public interest.[3] In July 2013, The Global Mail became the first institutional member of the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), as part of Wood's three-year, US$1.5 million grant to bolster cross-border investigative reporting.[4] Other businesses Wood has founded include Wild Mob (2008), a not-for-profit organisation that aims to protect Australia's most threatened species and ecosystems by giving young people the opportunity to participate in conservation work and environmental education;[5] Artology (2011), an organisation focused on youth development and social change through the arts;[6] and Wotnews, which closed in 2012[7] after spawning We Are Hunted, a music recommendation website sold to Twitter in 2013.[8]

The Graeme Wood Foundation supports environmental sustainability, the arts, tertiary education and improved justice for Australia's Indigenous community. In 2010, he gave a political donation of A$1.6 million, to The Greens[9] and is a donor of University of Queensland, the University of Tasmania, and Melbourne University. In January 2013, Wood became a prominent backer of the digital arm of British newspaper The Guardian in Australia,[10] which he said would add quality and diversity to Australian media and foster a closer interaction with the rest of the world. In October 2016, leaked emails from the account of John Podesta included a claim by a public relations company, Fenton Communications, that Wood had pledged towards an advertising campaign to counter the climate change denial stance of media owned by Rupert Murdoch. Wood has since stated, "It sounded like a good idea at the time but in the end I didn’t proceed with any funding".[11]

In 2011, Wood acquired the Triabunna Woodchip Mill in Tasmania.[12] He submitted plans for the rejuvenation of the site, renamed Spring Bay Mill, in September 2016.

Awards and honours

Wood was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2012 Australia Day Honours. He was awarded Suncorp Queenslander of the Year and received an Honorary Doctorate of Economics from the University of Queensland.

Notes and References

  1. News: Graeme's now even richer. 16 September 2014. The Morning Bulletin. 3 June 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091250/http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/apn-graemes-now-even/65473/. 4 March 2016.
  2. News: How Graeme Wood made his fortune. Money Magazine. 26 April 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203032/http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/pfsuperandplanning/super/8123014/how-graeme-wood-made-his-fortune. 3 March 2016.
  3. News: Why The Global Mail has focused in on data and investigations. McAthy. Rachel. 10 June 2013. journalism.co.uk. https://web.archive.org/web/20141202061049/https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/why-the-global-mail-has-sharpened-focus-on-data-and-investigations/s2/a553205/. 2 December 2014.
  4. Web site: Press Release - ICIJ and The Global Mail enter partnership. The Global Mail. July 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130905092932/http://extras.theglobalmail.org/uploads/TGM_02072013_PressRelease-ICIJ_Partnership.pdf . 5 September 2013 .
  5. News: Wild Mob. Wild Mob. 2016-11-28.
  6. Web site: Artology Unlocking the creative potential of young people.... artology.org.au. 2016-11-28.
  7. News: Wotnews to shut down on 23 June as development team heads to New York. Smart Company. 21 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160715140100/http://www.smartcompany.com.au//technology/online/26466-wotnews-to-shut-down-on-june-23-as-development-team-heads-to-new-york/. 15 July 2016. Engel. Schmidl.
  8. News: How three Australians took Twitter into music. The Australian Financial Review. 27 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130820063333/http://www.afr.com/p/technology/how_three_australians_took_twitter_6MrUxN4KGOItnCkEnWOAeN. 20 August 2013. Fairfax Media. Jessica. Gardner.
  9. News: Web millionaire bankrolled Greens. The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. 8 January 2011. Paddy. Manning. https://web.archive.org/web/20160715134404/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/web-millionaire-bankrolled-greens-20110107-19iw9.html. 15 July 2016.
  10. News: Guardian Australia launches with promise of 'fresh and independent view'. Sweeney. Mark. 26 May 2013. The Guardian. https://web.archive.org/web/20130527150915/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/may/26/guardian-australia-launch-julia-Gillard. 27 May 2013.
  11. News: Slezak . Michael . Hacked emails reveal plan to counter Rupert Murdoch's climate denial . 25 October 2016 . The Guardian . London, United Kingdom . 0261-3077 . 2016-10-25.
  12. News: Greenies buy woodchip mill. The Age. 14 July 2011. Andrew. Darby. https://web.archive.org/web/20160314012047/http://www.theage.com.au/national/greenies-buy-woodchip-mill-20110713-1he6h.html. 14 March 2016. Fairfax Media.

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