Frank is a proud descendant of the Whadjuk-Yued Nyoongar, and a proud father, husband, and son. Frank grew up in state housing in a small community in the South-West. Although blessed with a loving family, like many small towns, there were high rates of unemployment, drug/alcohol abuse, suicide and mental illness. Having been a survivor of suicide, losing three close friends before the age of 20, and having a son at 22, inspired Frank to live his life with purpose and to have a positive impact on others.

Being offered an electrical apprenticeship at age 25 was a turning point for Frank’s career. With his energy, motivation, and leadership aptitude – Frank moved from an electrician to site supervisor, to project manager, then co-owner and Director of Wilco Electrical in 2015. He then co-founded his second business, Kardan (Nyoongar name for Marri tree) in 2019 along with Dwayne Rowland. Kardan has many capabilities and delivers multiple social impact pathways, however, Kardan’s core business is Construction.

Frank understands that with success comes responsibility and as soon as he became a business owner, he chose to pay it forward – offering individuals who have potential, but lack opportunity, the very kind of empowering experience that changed his life. From a team of 8 people in 2015 through until June 2024, Frank and his team have created 50 Aboriginal upskilling positions in the construction industry. 25 Electrical apprentices, 9 Carpentry, Painting, Tiling, Welding, HVAC & Plastering apprenticeships, 6 admin traineeships and 10 trade assistant positions. Kardan has also awarded more than $10M to Aboriginal owned sub-contractors.

The success of employment programs and multiple industry awards at Kardan and Wilco drew the attention of many businesses including Resource Services Group (RSGx). With the backing of RSGx, Frank’s third business venture, Baldja (translating to ‘Standing United’ in Nyoongar), is a Certified Supply Nation business representing a JV between Kardan, Wilco and RSGx. With a 51%/49% Frank/RSGx ownership, Baldja provides a suite of services for the resource, renewables, high voltage distribution, defence and water infrastructure industries. From engineering and design, construction, commissioning and start-up, through to completions, maintenance, occupations and shutdowns, our mission is to generate specialist Aboriginal upskilling positions across the Mechanical & Electrical construction industry

Further to our commitment to generate Aboriginal engineers and specialist skillset positions, we’ve implemented into Baldja’s shareholders agreement what we believe is the only guaranteed 10% profit take from an Aboriginal JV in Australia. 10% of all forecasted profits from every Baldja progress claim is placed into a separate account that can only be accessed to support our Indigenous employees across Kardan, Wilco and Baldja when there is a genuine need for fiscal support. Previous fund access uses (but not limited to) has been for rental assistance during current housing crisis, tool purchases and flights for funerals.

Having achieved all the above within 9 years, Frank and his team are excited, more than ever, about increasing their social impact reach in the next decade and beyond!

Dwayne grew up in Darwin, with family connections to the Tiwi people from Bathurst Island, the Jingili people from Daly Waters. His heritage includes Paluwa from NW Tasmania

He has developed strong relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups and businesses across Australia, hailing from his roles in executive management across a diverse range of industry sectors. He has worked for companies across Australia including BHP Billiton, Thomas & Coffey, and John Holland.

Dwayne brings extensive skills in stakeholder relations, opportunity management, built-form infrastructure delivery, and Indigenous economic program development to Kardan Construction.

Kardan recognises all businesses have an obligation to those communities in which they operate, to leave a positive legacy.

In addition to Kardan’s employment pathways and social outcomes – we actively support, partner, and empower many community groups, aligned Aboriginal contractors and key social enterprises, through our everyday operations:

Kardan’s works are the basis from which we engage, empower, and grow an ever-growing number of Aboriginal businesses; as evidenced every day through our strong relationships and continued work with painters, carpenters, electricians, cabinetmakers, plumbing, art, and consultancy partners.

Cecil was born and raised in Graham County, North Carolina, USA. Upon graduating from high school in 1970, Cecil began working on construction projects to pay his way through college and law school. These projects included residential apartment complexes, highway construction, and interstate bridge construction. Upon completing law school, Cecil began a decades long career working for Phillips and Jordan, Inc. (P&J), a national heavy civil contractor.

During his tenure at P&J, Cecil worked in a variety of roles, including Accounts Payable, Contract Administration, Project Management, Vice President, and Corporate Counsel. As Vice President, Cecil oversaw the continued development of the Right-of-Way clearing division for cross-country power line and gas line projects, as well as the growth of the Disaster Response division. As co-manager of the Disaster Response division, Cecil managed and/or participated in some of the country’s most notable disaster response efforts, including the 9/11/2001 World Trade Center attack, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, Hurricane Sandy Long Island response, and the 2011 tornado response in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri. During his career, Cecil has responded to well over 100 disaster events, including ice storms, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and rock/earth slides.

During his time in the construction industry, Cecil has developed extensive relationships with contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and governmental agencies at all levels, and is now bringing that experience and those relationships to W.A. and Kardan Construction.