Wallace Stanley Read was born in Newfoundland, Canada and received his Bachelor of Engineering from Nova Scotia Technical College in 1951 before entering the pulp and paper and hydro-electric power industries in his native province. Between 1964 and 1984, he held senior positions with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and its subsidiary companies. In 1985 he joined the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) serving as its first full time President. In that position, Read worked to promote the interests of Canadian electric utilities and the customers they serve. Upon retirement in 1995, Read formed REMAS Inc., a provider of electric power consulting services to utilities and governments.

His professional affiliations include being a Life Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador, a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and a Life Fellow of the IEEE. He was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineers as a Fellow in 2001. In 1966 Read was elected President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest engineering professional society with over 370,000 members in 150 countries.

Over the years, he has received numerous awards including IEEE's General A.G.L. McNaughton Gold Medal, the Engineering Institute of Canada 's Julian C. Smith Medal, the CEA's Distinguished Service Award, the Canadian Standards Association's John Jenkins Award, the IEEE Power Engineering Society's Power Life Award, the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers Gold Medal, the IEEE Standards Association International Award and the Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award.

In addition to these honours, Doctor of Engineering Degrees (Honoris Causa) were conferred upon him by the Technical University of Nova Scotia and by Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 2003 Dr. Read was elected a Member of the Order of Canada.