Our clients have a wide and varied range of challenges to address, tapping into the expertise of over 67,000 people globally, WSP’s Advisory team exists to help our clients address their most complex challenges, and generate value for our clients above and beyond delivery.
Drawing on expertise across a variety of areas: economics, digital, policy, asset management, transport, city planning, sustainability, social outcomes, and organisational management consulting, we help leaders to understand the nature and scale of future challenges.
In late 2022, Scott Ney was appointed as Director of Advisory, responsible for the growth and success of WSP’s technical and strategic advisory business, with nearly 200 staff on a national team, and the network to tap into the knowledge and expertise of professionals around the world.
“We look to begin the journey with our clients early - enter the project lifecycle where we are helping our clients frame their questions - not just when they are developing the answers,” he says.
“There are a lot of consulting businesses out there, but the major differentiator at WSP is our integrated offering. Our advisors are some of the industry’s top experts in their own right, and combined with our local, national and global technical expertise in the Transport, Water, Power, Property, and Mining spaces, we provide our clients a one-stop shop from policy development through to delivery and the long-term management of their assets.
“Not many other firms can truly offer all of this as core business with a global backing. For our clients, it means that they are minimising interfaces and risks by letting us bring it all together for them.”
There much more to the team’s success than their expertise though.
“For me it all falls back to that human element. Our clients want to work with us because they trust the people and the WSP brand.
Scott is a people person. To him the key to client satisfaction has always been the relationship, and this element has been a part of his ethos since the beginning.
An adventure of a lifetime
Scott’s WSP origin story starts all the way back in 1996 when he joined the firm as a Highway Engineer in Raleigh North Carolina USA.
After 10 years he took a leap of faith and moved to Scotland where he became the Design Manager for the Edinburgh Tram project, and later the Manchester Metrolink project.
“In my current role, the experiences I gained back in Edinburgh are the lessons I’ve been drawing on the most.
“It was the first time I had ever moved overseas, and it demanded that I think differently around the people I was now working with, their culture which in some respects was very different to what I had been used to, and how it influenced how things were done.
“‘The physics’ is the same wherever you go, but the challenge of really getting to know the environment you’re working in, its circumstances and how to draw on everybody’s strengths to deliver the best outcomes has reaped many learnings. This major project experience has proven invaluable to my development, and those life experiences are something I would never change.”
In 2010, as Scott was finishing up his stint the UK, his next opportunity came knocking in the form of a phone call from an old colleague in the UK who had returned to Australia. Three months after this conversation Scott, and his family were on another adventure of a lifetime to the land down under.
What was originally intended to be a 16-month assignment working overseas in Scotland is now almost 20 years.
On the project front in Australia, a highlight Scott looks back on fondly with the Advisory business was his involvement on Transport for NSW’s Western Sydney Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) Model Development, as the Project Director.
While not the biggest project we’ve done, it was a high-profile, first of its kind study. WSP provided traffic modelling expertise, advice, and analysis in the development of a new DTA model for the growing Western Sydney region. This was an innovative program, as it was the first time that this client group utilised an integrated project team led by the consultants – a big risk that they trusted WSP to drive.
The team worked in a number of controlled “sprints” in the efforts to achieve the necessary outcomes in a fast-paced, time-constrained environment that required a very agile approach to deal with the on-going changes during development.
Scott provided project leadership to the integrated team to support rapid and quality delivery and met regularly with the client-side project leadership to ensure that the emerging requirements and outcomes were being adequately addressed.
“I enjoy working with high performing teams such as this one, where there is a common goal to get the job done. I pride myself on developing a culture of teamwork, where we approach challenges head-on, and provide our clients open communication to achieve the best outcomes - and providing our staff with positive and rewarding work experiences.”
Opportunities for growth
During his tenure in the Australian business, Scott has built a light rail capability, led major projects around the country, led the Transport Planning business, and served as the Client Director for NSW. Now, he is looking to what’s next as he leads growth for WSP’s Advisory business.
We are well established in the Transport Planning space and have real opportunities to grow our Strategic Asset Management team – we have great people who really understand what is needed to help our clients and the complex assets they own.
Our biggest opportunity is growth in our Strategic Advisory team, which encompasses teams focused on Infrastructure Investment Decisions, Social Strategy and Outcomes, City Planning, And Organisational Performance, Participation and Change. These skills stretch across all parts of our business, and service all levels of our client’s needs.
In Australia, WSP is not as well known for these services as we are for engineering and design, but when we get the opportunities – our clients are impressed with the result they get, and the way our teams work with them. The market is only growing for these services, and we are well placed to support our clients and grow the team to meet their varied needs.”
Fostering the Emerging Professionals of Advisory
“In the early days of my career, I just wanted to know more. In the need to satisfy my curiosity, I put my hand up for a lot of things which have benefited me in more ways than I could’ve imagined. The world is very small.
“Back in the late 90’s put my hand up to lead the first global Professional Growth Network (PGN) for the business. I was able to see and realise the personal growth and networking opportunities, as well as see the benefits to the business of an engaged and empowered next generation of professionals. This has led to my ongoing activities in mentoring, including as a mentor and chartership reviewer for Engineers Australia, mentoring activities with Women in Engineering, and supporting WSP’s emerging professionals through our internal programs.
“Outside of the day-to-day work, seeing people grow brings great joy in my career so I try to be a mentor to individuals in the business at all levels and encourage people to be empowered and create for themselves the same opportunities that I was fortunate enough to get - and that others helped create for me.”
“By investing in our talent and helping people to grow as individuals and professionals, we are also setting ourselves up to better support our clients now and into the future.”
To learn more about how WSP can help solve your greatest challenges, contact Scott Ney, or explore our Advisory & Digital services page.
