Exploration geologist Bill Barrett is an innovative leader and successful company builder in the Rocky Mountain area. Early in his career, Bill participated in several small ventures, namely Rainbow Resources and Eon Energy, finding oil fields and then selling the companies. In 1981, Bill started his own company, Barrett Energy, which later merged with Aimexco and became Barrett Resources in 1985. When the company was sold (by then a NYSE company) in 2001 for 2.8 billion dollars, Bill retired – temporarily. Later, he came out of retirement for three years to help his sons and others from the former company build another publicly-traded exploration company, which was called Bill Barrett Corporation. They raised money from many of the lenders who had previously supported Barrett Resources. After laying this groundwork, Bill once again retired, passing the reins of the new company to his sons. Bill’s great success as an explorer was recognized by AAPG with the Norman H. Foster Outstanding Explorer Award, and for his many contributions to the AAPG Foundation with its’ highest honor.