Imagine. You are a rising executive with Microsoft, with a corporate credit card and an associated lifestyle. Then one day, at age 35, you clear your desk, cash in your investments and walk away.
Meet John Wood, now shaking hands 31 floors above Roppongi Hills in central Tokyo. Totally at ease in the corporate splendor of a global investment banking firm, only his casual style of dressing hints that he's not on the bankroll.
"Supporters provide me with office space," he explains, tired but relaxed after a hectic day. "I'm here to launch the Tokyo Chapter of Room to Read at the South African Embassy tomorrow night. Lehman Brothers is my operations center. I'm so grateful."