Bill Chiles joined Pelican in 2014 and serves on the boards of several of the Pelican portfolio companies, providing operational guidance derived from his over 50 years of experience in energy service.
As of July 2014, Bill Chiles retired as President and CEO of Bristow Group Inc., a publicly traded and leading provider of helicopter services to the worldwide offshore energy industry. Bill joined Bristow in 2004 as CEO, President and a board member after a 32-year career in the offshore oil & gas drilling business. Bill was instrumental in leading the offshore aviation world to dramatically improve safety, and co-founded the international offshore helicopter association, Heli-Offshore in 2014, which is entirely focused on eliminating incidents from the offshore flying environment with over 100 members worldwide.
Bill began his career with Western Oceanic, Inc., as a Floorman, Derrickman, and Driller in the North Sea out of Aberdeen, Scotland, progressing to Rig Manager, Operations Manager, and VP of Domestic Operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. He co-founded Chiles Drilling Company in 1977 ("Chiles I"), which later became Chiles Offshore Corporation, acquired by Noble Drilling in 1994. After leaving Chiles Offshore, Bill founded Southwestern Offshore Corporation, operating ten offshore drilling units in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, and Trinidad. He served as CEO & President until Southwestern was acquired by Cliffs Drilling Company in 1996. After Bill left Cliffs, he founded Chiles Offshore Inc. ("Chiles II"), where he built and operated five ultra-premium jackup offshore drilling units, targeting very deep, high temperature and high-pressure drilling projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad, and offshore Western Australia. The company was merged into ENSCO International Incorporated in 2002, and Bill became Vice President of Business Development for ENSCO. In 2003, he joined Grey Wolf Inc., a publicly traded land oil & gas drilling company, as Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer until joining Bristow.
Bill also serves on the board of Gulf Island Fabricators Inc. as Chairman, and has formerly served on the boards of the National Ocean Industries Association, where he was the 2012 Chairman and a member of the Executive Committee, and the Offshore Energy Museum.
Bill is graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Petroleum Land Management and earned an MBA at Southern Methodist University. He is also a former trustee of Awty International School and Episcopal High School, served on the Vestry and was Senior Warden of Saint Martin's Episcopal Church, and was past President of Houston Country Club, where he conducted a $100 million renovation. Bill and his wife, Wendy, reside in Houston and have five children.