WSP’s John Truter

WSP’S JOHN TRUTER GRANTED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Former Chief Operations Officer: Property Inland & KZN at WSP John Truter has been posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the field of Engineering. The accolade was granted by the SA Professional Services Awards sponsored by Sanlam and W. Consulting. Stellenbosch University, following it up with further studies at Wits University. He began his working life at Van Wyk and Louw, then joined Lillicrap Crutchfield, where he became part of the management structure and eventually the managing director. Under his leadership, LC Consulting (Lillicrap Crutchfield) joined WSP in 2007 and became what is currently known as WSP Group Africa Structures, where he has assumed the role of COO.

In his interview with SAPSA, Truter had this to say when asked what he hoped his legacy at WSP would be: “I will be happy to leave behind a property business division that is successful and focused on doing the right things, with the right values and right individuals to take the organisation to greater heights. I would love to leave behind a good and healthy business that delivers great work on time and within budget.”

Truter expressed that he was passionate about solving issues and delivering good work to clients. He enjoyed giving people who work for him advice. Seeing them being successful was most fulfilling especially where he had a small role in their success.

“Highs in my working career were when I received my degree and postgraduate achievements. Also, the offer to be a Director at LC Consulting before joining WSP. Then my appointment to be COO of Property Inland & KZN. My lows are always when we must restructure, sadly enough I had to make that call a few times in my career,” Truter reflected.

Beyond WSP, he served on various committees at Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) and chaired the panel of judges at the SA Property Owners Association Awards (SAPOA). John Truter passed away in early 2020 and was mourned by various industry organisations including CESA and SAPOA.

SAPSA conveys its condolences to his family and his former colleagues at WSP.