Most people only want to lead when things are going well. But Bill Chiles seems to have a knack for picking up the pieces and steering organizations through their most chaotic chapters. So how does he help companies find their footing and scale when the culture is fractured, trust is low, and the path forward isn’t clear?

By doing things differently. By putting people over profit. And by making the tough calls that many leaders often avoid.

Take Bristow Helicopters. The company was on the brink of cultural collapse when Bill stepped in, not with a polished playbook, but with sleeves rolled up and a clear resolve. He didn’t flinch at the hard calls or worry about being liked. 

Instead, he focused on building trust the long way, setting a clear course and making three deeply unpopular decisions that ultimately turned the company around.

This isn’t a story about shortcuts or surface-level fixes. It’s about how lasting cultures are forged in the toughest moments and how one leader transformed a fractured global team into a unified crew anchored by shared values.

Listen to Bill’s full story on Spotify: 

Bill Chiles on Rethink Change

Meet Rethink Change Guest, Bill Chiles, Managing Partner at Pelican Energy Partners LP

Bill Chiles is a servant leader with a 40+ year career in the international energy service business, including 32 years in the offshore drilling business. During his career, Bill has founded three drilling companies, attaining a track record of strong safety, operational performance, and generating solid returns for shareholders. 

Bill has also led the successful turnaround of Bristow (formerly Offshore Logistics) by building a world-class team of ordinary people who achieved extraordinary results by focusing on execution of the Vision, Mission, and Strategy, subject to the Core Values. Now, as a managing partner at Pelican Energy Partners, he provides leadership and specializes in investments in small to middle market energy service companies. 

When he reflects on Bristow’s transformation, he doesn’t focus on margins or market share. He talks about trust. And how a few unpopular decisions became the turning point.

Putting People First Despite Differences

In the immediate aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, emotions were high and reputations were on the line. Bristow’s team in the Gulf Coast had no interest in working with BP. Resentment lingered from past rivalries.

But Bill didn’t wait for approval. He told his team to offer BP every idle helicopter they had, fully operational and at their cost. It was a decision that raised eyebrows and voices. But it also opened the door to something bigger. Within days, those helicopters were airborne. Within weeks, Bristow was handling the bulk of BP’s air transport needs around the world.

The return on investment was a relationship and a solid reputation. It proved that integrity in crisis is more than a business decision; it was the right decision. And because Bill focused on the greater good of the people rather than pocketbooks, it positioned Bristow as a trusted partner when it mattered most. And when BP insisted on paying full price retroactively, it wasn’t out of obligation; it was out of respect. It was proof that putting people over profit builds the kind of trust money can’t buy.

Relying on Your Values and Paying it Forward

After a fleet-wide grounding due to mechanical failure, Bristow scrambled to maintain operations, acquiring new helicopters and juggling contract terms. Technically, they could bill customers for both grounded aircraft and the replacements. And they did.

But when Bristow reached a financial settlement with the aircraft manufacturer, Bill didn’t hesitate. He instructed his leadership team to assess what each customer had lost and to return the money accordingly.

It wasn’t an easy sell. There were arguments and resistance. But Bill stood firm. For him, it wasn’t just a gesture of goodwill; it was a declaration of values. The company could afford to give it back. So they did.

That act of goodwill, during a time when most would have focused on the bottom line, cemented relationships that went beyond contracts. It reminded customers what kind of company they were working with: one built on integrity and focusing on people over profit values.

Focusing on Community Safety Over Competition

For years, safety had been treated as a competitive advantage in offshore aviation. Companies protected their practices, and incidents were quietly buried.

Bill decided that secrecy was no longer acceptable. Following a fatal crash involving a competitor, he led Bristow to initiate an industry-wide safety coalition called HeliOffshore. The idea was simple: share best practices so no one had to learn the hard way.

Colleagues in the industry weren’t thrilled. Many believed their internal safety protocols were proprietary. But Bill wasn’t trying to win points with these companies. He was trying to save lives. He knew that a single company couldn’t move the needle on safety alone and that when you work together, your work carries further and faster.

It was a bold move, and it fundamentally shifted how the industry approached collaboration, responsibility, and leadership. He may have been hated in the heat of the moment, but on the other hand, he was also loved for it. 

The Leadership Trick That United an International Crew

Bristow wasn’t just navigating external complexity. Internally, it was a fractured operation. They didn’t speak the same operational language, they didn’t trust each other, they weren’t aligned.

That all changed with one simple framework: Strategic Guardrails.

Bill, along with the help of Pennebaker, led the company through a collaborative process to define their core values, mission, and strategy. Together. It wasn’t handed down from the C-suite. It was built by the team, which meant something. 

Those shared Guardrails became more than talking points. They became the lens through which every decision was made. It was a culture reset rooted in people over profit, where alignment mattered more than appearances. 

And in time, they turned a fragmented organization into a high-trust team. A group that wasn’t just executing orders, but they were also aligned with the why behind them. 

Bill didn’t shout from a podium. He listened. He acted. And he led by putting people first, even when it wasn’t popular.

Partner with us at Pennebaker: Helping Leaders Navigate What’s Next

The kind of leadership Bill demonstrated doesn’t happen by accident. It starts with alignment. And that’s where we come in.

At Pennebaker, we partner with leaders who understand that culture isn’t the byproduct of growth. It’s what makes growth sustainable.

We help organizations clarify their strategy, define their guardrails, and communicate with intention. Especially during high-stakes change, whether that’s a merger, a new investor, or a moment of cultural reset, we help leadership teams rally around where the company is going, not just where it’s been.

Because when your values show up in how you lead, trust follows. And with trust, clarity becomes your most strategic asset.