Woods International, LLC unites the power of the public and private sectors to deliver results that endure and benefits that impact individual lives.

Tom Woods leads the Washington-based practice and provides personalized oversight of the company's work, which now spans four continents.

Tom Woods, President

Tom is President of Woods International, LLC, a private sector consulting firm focused on economic growth strategies and public private partnerships for global development and security.  Woods International advises corporate partners on emerging market strategies as well as multinational financing institutions.

Tom serves as Chairman of the World Bank's Global Steering Committee for Quality Assurance of Medical Products where he concentrates international efforts to combat falsified medicines around the world.  He is also the Chairman of the Wilton Park USA Foundation focused on building transatlantic partnership on issues of global importance.

Tom served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa (2004-2006) and led U.S. engagement with 25 countries in west and southern Africa.  He also led U.S. economic policy toward Africa, including trade and investment issues.  Tom managed security and political relations, including Africa Energy Security and he chaired the first Bilateral Conference on U.S.-Nigeria Energy Cooperation.  Tom also helped develop the first major public/private partnership between leading oil companies, donors and the Government of Nigeria to reduce violent conflict in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

Tom served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development (2002-2004).  In this role, he oversaw the agency’s more than $1 billion Africa development budget.  He led the promotion of major public/private partnerships through USAID’s Global Development Alliance initiative. 

Tom has served as the State Department’s Officer in Charge for Democracy and Human Rights in Africa (1998-2000).  In this capacity, he directed U.S. policy and programs throughout Africa during a time of unprecedented gains in multiparty democracy.  He is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, including Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.  Tom began his government career as a Presidential Management Fellow within the State Department Bureau of African Affairs.

Tom earned a BA in International Studies and economics with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 

Tom is married to Deidra Woods, MD, a Washingtonian Magazine Top-Doc in Internal Medicine.