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When culture is king, everyone wins

Man smiling and looking at a laptop screen with others

An interview with Bill Leonard, co-founder of Charter Solutions

Bill Leonard and Dee Thibodeau first met in 1985. They got to know each other as members of a president’s group they had both been involved with for over 15 years. As their paths continued to cross in their local community, they exchanged information about mutual experiences and lessons learned for successfully growing a business. Fast forward to 1995, and Bill had recently taken his company public and Dee’s management team at St. Paul Software was also in the process of going public.  

After the sale of Bill’s company in 1996, he found himself commuting weekly to a company he had purchased in Peoria, IL and Dee had begun planning for a new business she wanted to build. When Dee approached Bill with the idea to start a tech services company, he quickly offered to help her research the business model. It was not long after that Charter Solutions was born. 

Bill Leonard and Dee
Bill Leonard retirement

“It was a humble beginning,” said Bill. “Over my dining room table, we met with a neighbor of mine who donated creative services to design the first Charter logo and printed materials, and sold us a second-hand phone system for cheap. We did everything from making the coffee to answering the phones to installing our first in-house network – all while bringing in business and balancing our mutual love for travel.”

Dee, Bill, and Jim Rhode comprised the leadership team at Charter in the early days and one of the company’s first employees, Phil Groth, is a Charter employee to this day. 

“Charter has been able to attract and retain top-notch talent, and that says a lot about who you are as an organization and what you do,” said Bill. “We set an expectation when we started the company that if you have the right kind of culture, you attract the right kind of people. Dee and I had both worked at organizations that had great corporate cultures and also saw others that were not as good. That’s why we decided culture was going to be king and that we were going to earn our success.”

The Charter team has become known for their ability to build extensive and deep relationships and to effectively and efficiently solve problems for clients. This is due in large part to the efforts of leadership to arm employees with the skills and knowledge to advance as consultants and tech experts. That culture has produced a company-wide drive to always exceed client expectations.

After retiring four years ago, Bill now keeps busy teaching and lecturing for several MBA programs, fishing, and traveling (his most recent trip with his family to Spain). His wish for the Charter Solutions team as they celebrate this milestone:

“Keep growing. Enjoy the journey. And have fun.”


Read the full interview here

Bill Leonard sailing

An interview with Bill Leonard, co-founder of Charter Solutions

Bill Leonard and Dee

Bill Leonard and Dee Thibodeau first met in 1985. They got to know each other as members of a president’s group they had both been involved with for over 15 years. As their paths continued to cross in their local community, they exchanged information about mutual experiences and lessons learned for successfully growing a business. Fast forward to 1995, and Bill had recently taken his company public and Dee’s management team at St. Paul Software was also in the process of going public.  

After the sale of Bill’s company in 1996, he found himself commuting weekly to a company he had purchased in Peoria, IL and Dee had begun planning for a new business she wanted to build. When Dee approached Bill with the idea to start a tech services company, he quickly offered to help her research the business model. It was not long after that Charter Solutions was born. 

Bill Leonard retirement

“It was a humble beginning,” said Bill. “Over my dining room table, we met with a neighbor of mine who donated creative services to design the first Charter logo and printed materials, and sold us a second-hand phone system for cheap. We did everything from making the coffee to answering the phones to installing our first in-house network – all while bringing in business and balancing our mutual love for travel.”

Dee, Bill, and Jim Rhode comprised the leadership team at Charter in the early days and one of the company’s first employees, Phil Groth, is a Charter employee to this day. 

“Charter has been able to attract and retain top-notch talent, and that says a lot about who you are as an organization and what you do,” said Bill. “We set an expectation when we started the company that if you have the right kind of culture, you attract the right kind of people. Dee and I had both worked at organizations that had great corporate cultures and also saw others that were not as good. That’s why we decided culture was going to be king and that we were going to earn our success.”

Bill Leonard sailing

The Charter team has become known for their ability to build extensive and deep relationships and to effectively and efficiently solve problems for clients. This is due in large part to the efforts of leadership to arm employees with the skills and knowledge to advance as consultants and tech experts. That culture has produced a company-wide drive to always exceed client expectations.

After retiring four years ago, Bill now keeps busy teaching and lecturing for several MBA programs, fishing, and traveling (his most recent trip with his family to Spain). His wish for the Charter Solutions team as they celebrate this milestone:

“Keep growing. Enjoy the journey. And have fun.”


Read the full interview here

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