William Bates

Will started as a temporary employee in the Orlando, FL office, at Trileaf’s infancy, when it was a much smaller company with less than 40 employees. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Boston University, Will was hired initially to conduct Migratory Bird Evaluations on tower sites, and also to perform screenings of the rooftop collocations proposed to determine NEPA applicability and scope. Over time, he became a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, developing an in-depth understanding of the telecommunications industry as a whole. His position grew organically within Trileaf through business development and simply doing great work. Through his interaction with Trileaf’s A&E team, Will knew they had an excellent offering of services and great people, so when the Director of A&E position became available in 2018, he leapt at the opportunity to help play a role in its growth.

As a person who appreciates and values loyalty, this is what Will loves most about working for Trileaf. He’s seen many companies in this industry do massive hiring pushes, followed by completing programs, then massive layoffs – Trileaf has never been that company. This organization has grown a lot since he joined the team, but done so sustainably. Having been laid off once before, Will values job security. 

Will says, “If there is one quality that all Trileaf employees share, it is that we all care about our clients – we want to see them succeed. I’ve never had to apologize to a client for doing sloppy work, because Trileaf’s employees care about our services and deliverables. Coming to work and being part of that – watching the employees I have hired learn, grow, become essential parts of our successes, and get promoted – is, in itself, the most rewarding part of the work here.”

Will grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, but has always had an adventurous spirit. Once he got his job at Trileaf (in Florida), he moved to Dallas to open the office there, then to St. Louis. He now lives in Des Peres, MO with his wife. Outside of work, he tries to spend as much time as he can hiking, camping, kayaking, and saltwater fishing. He and his wife’s favorite thing to do together is travel. They’ve been to 38 out of 50 states in the U.S., Morocco, Costa Rica, most of western Europe, and Jamaica.  

The primary virtue Will and his team try to instill in all Trileaf employees is ‘keeping our promises.’ That virtue manifests itself in a lot of ways: for example, when Trileaf promises a date, they hit that date; if they are not certain they can hit that date due to something outside their control, that’s what they say. Transparency is easy to talk about, but requires good communication to perform. It is the Trileaf way and one of the reasons Will is proud to be a leader at Trileaf.