
Chris Wood graduated from Oxford with an honours degree in Politics , Philosophy and Economics , and started his career as a graduate trainee at Ogilvy ( Benson ) and Mather . In 1976 he joined Craton Lodge and Knight , the specialist innovation and brand development consultancy . He became a director in 1982 and Managing Director in 1984 . Meanwhile the company had floated on AIM , and subsequently became part of the Princedale Goup . In 1997 Chris engineered a successful management buy-out of both CLK and Michael Peters Limited with the backing of 3i , and became the Chief Executive of the new company . Synthesising the UK 's original branding consultancy with one of the great names in design created a company that genuinely embodied both strategic rigour and creative excellence . Following significant organic growth and various acquisitions , the new company re-branded as Corporate Edge in 2001 . In August 2004 a new CEO ( Simon Lake ) was appointed from within and Chris became Chairman . His role is now split between consultancy and business development . In terms of the former he works across the spectrum of branding , innovation and communications assignments , with clients including Cadbury Schweppes , Freeplay , Pfizer , Travelodge and Williams F1 . He also speaks on the various topics above . His wider business development role embraces both the acquisition of new clients and the forward development of Corporate Edge , currently the UK 's leading independent branding consultancy .