Wood joined the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1969, and served as First Secretary in
Tokyo in 1974. He then worked as Prime Minister
Robert Muldoon’s Foreign Policy adviser, and served as deputy chief of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Bonn. Wood was Deputy Chief of Mission at New Zealand's Embassy in Washington from 1984 to 1987, and Chargé d'Affaires at the post from 1984 to 1985, at a key time in New Zealand's relationship with the United States, including New Zealand's withdrawal from the
ANZUS treaty. Wood was New Zealand's Ambassador to Iran in 1987, He was also high commissioner to Pakistan. , after his investiture as a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit at
Government House, Wellington, on 8 September 2015 In 2009,
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister
Chris Finlayson appointed him the Crown's lead negotiator in talks with Whanganui
iwi. In the
2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, Wood was appointed a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tertiary education and Māori. In August 2017, Wood was appointed chairman of the
Canterbury District Health Board by Health Minister
Jonathan Coleman, replacing Murray Cleverley (resigned) and succeeding the acting chair
Mark Solomon. As of 2022, Wood is a member of the Board of
Te Urewera, a
protected area in the North Island. ==References==