About

Having overseen and completed a number of important transactions and internal legal department initiatives during a successful career, Grant Smallhorn is the general counsel for the Asia Pacific region of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering professional services firms. A major point in Smallhorn’s career history came in 2007, when Parsons Brinckerhoff (which rebranded to WSP in 2017) saw all of its non-North American operations united under one management team. Smallhorn speaks of feeling ‘privileged to be chosen as general counsel – international’ for the company amidst a time of ‘profound growth’ in the international operations of the business, and he subsequently led and developed a legal team with members based in the UK, UAE, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Following the sale of (then employee owned) Parsons Brinckerhoff to UK construction company Balfour Beatty in late 2009, the international operations of the company were broken into two “super-geographies” with Smallhorn being general counsel to the Asia Australia Pacific Southern Africa (AAPSA) segment. Smallhorn’s role has slightly modified over time thanks to further restructuring in 2013 and the sale of Parsons Brinckerhoff by Balfour Beatty to WSP in 2014. His role, now without Southern Africa responsibility which was excised in 2013, encompasses the Asia Pacific region in addition to responsibility for India. In his position as general counsel for Asia Pacific, Smallhorn is relied upon not only for his legal counsel but for his business leadership skills – he is a member of the Australia and New Zealand executive leadership team of the company and management of WSP’s team of lawyers based in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong SAR.

When asked about his career highlights, Smallhorn identifies ‘the acquisition by Pacific Waste Management in Australia and by Waste Management in New Zealand of the Browning Ferris Industries group of companies in Australia and New Zealand’ and ‘building a cohesive and connected legal team serving the international operations of an engineering business, with members based in the UK, Middle East, Asia and ANZ regional headquarters’, as two particularly influential aspects in his professional development. During the course of his career with Parsons Brinckerhoff and now WSP, Smallhorn has served as a member of the Parsons Brinckerhoff Global Risk Management Committee (RMC) in addition to chairing regional and international RMCs. He has also continues to serve as company secretary of WSP’s Australian operating companies.