Prof. John Wood, CBE, has held senior academic posts at several UK universities including Nottingham and Imperial College. In 2001 he became chief executive of the UK research council for operating and managing large RIs. As chair of ESFRI he was responsible for the first RI roadmap. He was chair of the European Research Area Board from 2008 and in 2009 chair of the High Level Group on the future of scientific data. He is a director of a number of companies. In 2010 the German Government made him an “Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.