Grant Wallis, son of Chairman Graeme Wallis, recently celebrated 20 years of service at Wallis. At Wallis, we work hard to cultivate a people-focussed, family culture and are proud that several members of the Wallis family who founded our business. We value the commitment and dedication that Grant has made to Wallis over the past 20 years.

Grant joined Wallis Drilling in November 2002. He initially worked in the Field Services division for 18 months, managing a team of geologists, field assistants, exploration camps and vehicles. He then progressed into the Exploration Division. The exploration divisions at the time focused on the provision on Wallis Aircore drilling services to the mining and exploration sector across Australia. In 2005, transferred to the International Division, which initially focused on Africa. Grant was lucky enough to travel all over Australia & many African countries and had the pleasure working with some of the most loyal and hardworking local staff.

As the International Operations expanded, Wallis Drilling engaged in work in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Guatemala, Paraguay and Argentina. Visiting these countries and working with our clients and local staff was very rewarding and seeing what benefits Wallis could bring to these local communities. Grant still looks back at the 12 years he spent managing the International Operations and misses working with our teams who are still out there today.

Grant returned to the Australian operations in 2017 to manage the Iron Ore division. The growth of the Iron Ore business over this period was significant for the business and the investment in people and equipment has paid off with successful partnerships developed with the major Iron Ore players in WA. During this time, Grant was pleased to launch the Wallis 300RC drill into the Iron Ore market. This drill offers a range of automated and autonomous features including rig setup & pack up, rod loading and unloading, drilling and sampling. This was a big milestone for Wallis Drilling and our 3 major Iron ore clients, who were looking at new innovative ways to reduce injuries on the drill site, while improving production.

This year, Grant has moved into the role of Chief Operating Officer. As part of this move into a senior management role, he commenced his Senior Executive MBA though Melbourne Business School to further his skills and knowledge, to run a business the size of Wallis Drilling. Upon completion of Grant’s studies, Graeme Wallis will retire from the business, after 47 years and Grant will transition into the Chief Executive Officer Role.

‘As I reflect on my journey to Chief Operating Officer over the past 20 years, it’s the people that stick in my mind the most. They have been the most dedicated, loyal, hardworking, and fun group to work with. Each day has been different, with plenty of challenges to keep me engaged. Wallis has a long list of names on the services board with Wallis. There are 128 listed on the service honour boards with 10+ years’ service. I’m thankful I’ve been able to work in an organisation that values its employees as much as Wallis'.