OXFORD,
Miss. – Houston businessman William Chiles plans to discuss the
successes in his more-than-35-year career in the offshore oil and gas
drilling and service industry Thursday (Oct. 23) at the University of
Mississippi.
Chiles comes to the UM as part of the School of
Business Administration’s Otho Smith Lecture Series and is to speak to
MBA students at 4:30 p.m. in Connor Hall, Room110. The event is free
and open to the public.
Chiles is CEO and president of Bristow
Group Inc., a leading provider of helicopter services to the oil and
gas industry worldwide.
“Mr. Chiles brings great experience and wisdom to the classroom that is important in these trying times,” said interim business school Dean Ken Cyree. “I am deeply grateful for his commitment and willingness to share with our students and faculty. He has been extremely generous to the School of Business and the university. He is the parent of a student and his dedication to helping the School of Business excel has been both amazing and inspiring, especially given that he is not an alumnus.”
Chiles is the founder of Southwestern Offshore Corp. and Chiles Offshore Inc., as well as co-founder of Chiles Drilling Co. Before joining Bristow in 2004, he also served as CEO and president of Southwestern, senior vice president of drilling operations for Cliffs Drilling Co., vice president of business development for ENSCO and executive vice president and chief operating officer of Grey Wolf Inc.
Chiles plans to speak about his own career, including the challenges he has faced and the impacts of his actions, as well as his experiences in the oil and gas industry.
Chiles earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum land management from the University of Texas in 1971 and completed his MBA at Southern Methodist University in 1972. Before co-founding Chiles Drilling Co. in 1977, he worked with Western Oceanic Inc. as a floorman, derrickman and driller in Scotland and as rig manager, operations and vice president of domestic operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Otho Smith Lecture Series, created in 1981 through a grant from the Phil B. Hardin Foundation, brings prominent business executives to the UM campus as guest speakers. It is named for the late Meridian businessman, philanthropist and former president of the Ole Miss Alumni Association.
For more information or assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-5820.