Bill Reilly

The Force Within The Force: Moving Your Agency's Culture Towards Excellence

Bill Reilly is the Police Chief Coach™. He assists law enforcement personnel seeking professional and organizational excellence by integrating his command-level law enforcement knowledge with his certified executive coaching expertise.

During his career with the Hartford (CT) Police Department he held ranks from officer to assistant chief with assignments in patrol, training, and administration. Notable among those experiences were his positions as Police Academy Commander, Bomb Squad Commander, District Commander, Bureau Commander, and ultimately Chief of Staff. The International Association of Chiefs of Police chose him to deliver Community Oriented Policing training to chiefs throughout the United States in conjunction with the Community Policing Consortium. In his final assignment as the department’s chief of staff, Bill spearheaded improvements in organizational effectiveness and accountability. The most significant of these changes was a union / management collaboration that resulted in a dramatic improvement to the department’s accountability processes.

After his retirement from the Hartford Police Department, Bill formed Finest’s Professional Development which focuses on developing police leaders at every rank. Building on his belief that police officers are “The Finest” and as such they deserve committed, trustworthy, and skilled leaders; he is dedicated to simplifying complex police leadership practices so they are easier to understand and apply. 

Bill achieved a professional coaching certification, a master’s degree in organizational communication, and a position as an adjunct professor in the area of training and development.

Bill has been a certified police instructor since 1991 and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 213th Session.