Introduction
Dean McGrail has spent over two decades building his career in the Gulf, and today he leads WSP’s operations across the Middle East and Asia.
He talks to Spencer about the humbling start that shaped his entire career, his approach to leading his team, and what it’s actually taken, personally and professionally, to get to where he is now.
Show Notes
0:00 Introduction
0:28 What WSP actually does
1:45 The landmarks across the region, Ain Dubai, Royal Atlantis, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and more
3:26 “We’ve been part of building a nation”
4:14 The scope of his role
5:47 Does he feel presidential
6:39 Imposter syndrome
7:39 Growing up in Aldershot
8:44 Rejected from the RAF and told he was “socially inadequate”
10:19 How he ended up studying fire engineering by chance
11:47 His first job overseas in Hong Kong
13:19 Joining WSP and his dad’s reaction
19:01 His two mentors, Chris Cole and Norman Curtis
29:23 Why you can’t fake thirty years of trust in ten
31:22 His warning to newcomers arriving in the Gulf
34:33 The hardest conversation he’s had with his mentor
40:11 Would he give someone a blueprint for his job
41:06 Build your network, get uncomfortable
44:34 “Quality is the absolute cornerstone of everything we do”
46:20 What he’s sacrificed for his career
48:58 Was it a price worth paying
50:07 Does he feel guilt
53:41 Who is Dean McGrail without the title
55:29 What AI has actually changed at WSP
1:00:00 What he’d tell himself at 19
