Michael Woodford
Executive Chairman
Saver Roads Foundation

Born in 1960, Michael grew up in the British port city of Liverpool, and after moving to the south of England spent the next 30 years of his professional life working at Olympus. In April 2011, he was appointed President of the Olympus Corporation - the first Western' salary-man' to rise through the ranks to the top of a Japanese giant, chronicled in his risham-like bestselling book ‘Exposure’.

Whilst now being publicly best-known as the CEO who became a whistleblower of his own company in exposing the $2 billion fraud at Olympus and having to flee Japan in fear of his life, for over thirty years Michael has been actively involved in road safety. This is now his major focus but he also spends much of his time visiting different countries talking about everything from corporate governance and transparency, to the frailties of human nature!

Michael has an immense passion for road safety and is Executive Chairman of the UK registered charity the Safer Roads Foundation (SRF), which he founded some fifteen years ago. SRF is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the reduction of road casualties, not just in the UK and Europe but in numerous countries around the world.

The Foundation’s support is provided by the implementation of engineering measures to improve safety at specific sites (accident ‘black spots’), and collaborating internationally with governmental, NGOs and commercial organisations in the development of design standards affecting the safety of road users globally. SRF also works to increase public awareness of the issues affecting safety on the roads through education and promotion, working closely with government, road safety organisations and individuals with shared obectives.