Leo Grutters is a Civil Engineer and a Dispute Resolution Expert with nearly 30 years of professional experience. He holds an MBA and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. As a Member of FIDIC's President's List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators he has been involved as an independent neutral expert in many large prestigious international engineering projects involving such wide-ranging sectors as roads, power generation & distribution, off-shore, marine, renewable energies, etc. He is a forensic analyst focused on the logical and fair resolution to contractual disputes. Due to his extensive participation in international contractual dispute resolution procedures such as Adjudication, Dispute Boards and Arbitration, he is a project-focused expert that understands the interaction between complex engineering methodologies and the unavoidable legal and commercial implications when seen in a contractual environment. He strongly believes in a common sense approach and will always strive to achieve the optimum result acceptable by all involved. He also regularly lectures on Dispute Resolution Methodologies, Proactive Contract Administration Systems & Procedures and he is a regular speaker at related international events. He also routinely conducts training and coaching events on the entire FIDIC Rainbow Suite of Contracts, as well as other construction management related topics.

Download as PDF

Languages

English: fluent

German: fluent

Afrikaans: fluent

Dutch: mother tongue

Education

Civil Engineering Degree (Ing. (NL))

Master of Business Administration (Herriot Watt University, Edinburg) (MBA)

CEM Diploma in Arbitration (Reading University) (DipArb)

FIDIC Total Immersion Programme (DBF)

Professional Status

FIDIC President's List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators

VBI (Germany) listed FIDIC Adjudicator

Construction Dispute Adjudicator

Dispute Board Member

Professional Memberships

Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)

Fellow Dispute Board Federation (FDBF)

DBTrainer Team

Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF)

Swiss Arbitrator Association (ASA)

European Arbitration Chamber (EAC)

Publications

Co-author of "ARCUS Guide to FIDIC red Book 1999" App (Apple and Android)

Co-author of the "FIDIC User's Guide to the Red, Yellow, MDB and Subcontract Books, 3rd Edition" (Publication by Thomas Telford / ICE)

Professional Experience

1999 – present

During this period he was mainly involved in high profile international engineering projects. His duties ranged from Engineer, Client Representative (CR), Counsel at Arbitration (CoA), Contract Administrator (CA) to Leading dispute resolution procedures such as DAB, Arbitration (Arb) and Adjudication (Adj), involving a high degree of co-operation with and between experts from the engineering as well as the legal fraternity. Representative projects include:

Three Gorges HPP - China - CA

Nürnberg Library Renovation - Germany - CR

Seastar Off-Shore Platform - USA - CR

Los Altos del Golf Villas - Spain - CR

Allianz Arena Munich - Germany - CA

Baltic 1 Off-Shore wind park - Germany - Adj

Baltic 2 Off-Shore wind park - Germany - Adj

Poznan E30 Motorway Bypass - Poland - CA

BTC Pipeline - Turkey - DAB

Rødsand 2 Off-Shore wind park - Sweden - DAB

Medupi & Kusili PP - South Africa - DAB Counsel

Tirana-Podgorica OHPL - Albania - DAB

Doha New Intern. Airport - Qatar - CA

Dubai T3 Baggage handling - UAE - CA

Casecnan HEPP - Philippines - CoA

Zilina/Presov E50 Motorway - Slovakia - CR

1996 – 1999

Preparation of complex delay and disruption claims as well the professional negotiations thereto.

King Abdullah Canal - Jordan

Morpeth Off-shore Oil platform - Texas USA

Narok Road - Kenya

1990 – 1996

Head Contract Administration MENA region for international Construction Group

Gubbrah III CCPP - Oman

Benghazi CCPP - Libya

Tripoli Süd CCPP - Libya

Zuwetina CCPP - Libya

Al Khoms CCPP - Libya

Sabha Road Project - Libya

1986 – 1990

Responsible for the preparation and implementation of a professional contract administrative system, allowing for optimised project results whilst maintaining a reduction for conflict potential through systematic project documentation.

Khayalitsha (Roads Project) - South Africa

KTC (Roads Project) - South Africa

Lesotho Highlands (Hydro Project) - Lesotho

Various construction projects throughout Southern Africa. Mainly involved in the preparation of contractual documents and tender procedures