MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(Marketwired – May 10, 2017) – WSP Global Inc. (TSX:WSP) (“WSP” or the “Corporation”) today held its annual meeting of shareholders (the “Meeting”) at the Crystal Hotel in Montreal. A total of 72,549,362 common shares (representing approximately 71% of all issued and outstanding common shares of the Corporation) were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting. WSP hereby announces that shareholders of the Corporation (the “Shareholders”) voted in favour of all items of business put forth at the Meeting by the Corporation. The Corporation also presented highlights of its first quarter of 2017 results and unveiled its new brand identity. The complete voting results for each item of business at the Meeting are presented below.
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors of the Corporation had fixed at eight the number of directors (the “Directors”) to be elected at the Meeting. Each of the eight nominees listed in the Corporation’s Management Information Circular dated April 10, 2017 was elected as a Director of WSP until the close of the next annual meeting of Shareholders of the Corporation or until their successors are appointed. With the exception of Louis-Philippe Carrière, all of the Nominee Directors were members of the Board of Directors prior to the Meeting. Mr. Carrière is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Saputo Inc.
“I would like to take this opportunity to officially welcome Louis-Philippe Carrière to our Board of Directors and as Chair of our Audit Committee,” stated Christopher Cole, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Having someone such as Mr. Carrière with extensive financial expertise and public company leadership and international business experience joining our Board provides us with a further strategic perspective as we pursue our global expansion.”
| Nominee | Votes For | % For | Votes Withheld |
% Withheld |
| Louis-Philippe Carrière | 72,380,998 | 99.96% | 31,752 | 0.04% |
| Christopher Cole | 71,027,618 | 98.09% | 1,385,132 | 1.91% |
| Pierre Fitzgibbon | 72,378,782 | 99.95% | 33,968 | 0.05% |
| Alexandre L’Heureux | 71,963,850 | 99.38% | 448,900 | 0.62% |
| Birgit Nørgaard | 71,435,849 | 98.65% | 976,901 | 1.35% |
| Josée Perreault | 71,956,109 | 99.37% | 456,641 | 0.63% |
| Suzanne Rancourt | 72,379,551 | 99.95% | 33,199 | 0.05% |
| Pierre Shoiry | 71,426,048 | 98.64% | 986,702 | 1.36% |
APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, was appointed as auditor of WSP until the close of the next annual shareholder meeting, and the Directors were authorized to fix the remuneration of the auditors.
| Votes For | % For | Votes Withheld | % Withheld |
| 72,449,974 | 99.86% | 99,388 | 0.14% |
NON-BINDING ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Shareholders were also presented with a non-binding, advisory vote on executive compensation to provide their views on WSP’s executive compensation plans and related disclosed objectives and they voted in favour of such advisory as follows:
| Votes For | % For | Votes Against | % Against |
| 70,773,234 | 97.74% | 1,637,881 | 2.26% |
As mentioned in the Corporation’s Management Information Circular dated April 10, 2017, while Shareholders have provided their collective advisory vote, the Directors remain fully responsible for their compensation decisions and are not relieved of these responsibilities by a positive advisory vote by Shareholders.
The foregoing voting results will be published on the Corporation’s website (www.wsp.com) under “Investors” and filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
ADDITION TO THE CORPORATE TEAM
WSP also announced the appointment of Me Steeve Robitaille as Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions. In this position, he will hold overall responsibility for legal affairs and, together with the President and Chief Executive Officer, oversee mergers and acquisitions. Me Robitaille will also be WSP’s Corporate Secretary.
“We are delighted to welcome someone of Steeve’s caliber to the team. Steeve is a respected legal expert, and we have had the pleasure of working with him for a number of years. As an advisor to WSP, he was closely involved with corporate law, business strategy, regulatory affairs, financing and M&A on our behalf, particularly since the company went public in 2006,” said Alexandre L’Heureux, President and CEO of WSP.
Before joining WSP, Mr. Robitaille was a senior partner of the law firm Stikeman Elliott where he practiced corporate law for over 20 years and was a member of its Partnership Board and Executive Committee. Mr. Robitaille holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Laval University and is a member of the Quebec Bar.
WEBCAST
The Meeting was covered by a live webcast, available on WSP’s website in the “Investors” Section.
ABOUT WSP
As one of the world’s leading professional services firms, WSP provides technical expertise and strategic advice to clients in the Property & Buildings, Transportation & Infrastructure, Environment, Industry, Resources (including Mining and Oil & Gas) and Power & Energy sectors. We also offer highly specialized services in project delivery and strategic consulting. Our experts include engineers, advisors, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors and environmental specialists, as well as other design, program and construction management professionals. With approximately 36,000 talented people in 500 offices across 40 countries, we are uniquely positioned to deliver successful and sustainable projects, wherever our clients need us. www.wsp.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information regarding WSP contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although WSP believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. WSP’s forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The complete version of the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements as well as a description of the relevant assumptions and risk factors likely to affect WSP’s actual or projected results are included in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2016, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and WSP does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless expressly required by applicable securities laws.
Vice President,
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
WSP Global Inc.
514-340-0046, ext. 5648
[email protected]
