From Zero to CTO - Mark Wood is in the Spotlight

Mark Wood didn't set out to be a CTO; he simply took whatever needed to be done and ran with it. Starting in telesales, then a coldfusion consultancy that folded, he jumped into a startup as a wireless producer, managing suppliers, sponsors and developers on a WAP site for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. That early autonomy taught him that leadership is less about a title and more about solving problems and owning outcomes.

When he moved into formal leadership he learned the hard way that expectation management and saying no are critical. He admits he often pushed projects to the deadline and warned stakeholders too late. His response was to build trust through clear, visual plans, to let teams design their own commitments, and to use Scrum to keep work focused and adaptable. By treating stress as a signal and giving people freedom to own solutions, he kept morale high even during tight delivery cycles.

Wood's view on talent is that people stay where they feel valued and see a clear link between their work and the company's strategy. He stresses the need to articulate why a role is compelling, to align individuals with the broader plan, and to support them in delivering it. Those practices, combined with regular celebration of wins, form the practical playbook he uses to attract, retain, and motivate engineers.