Charles is a veteran landman, having begun his career in the Appalachian Basin in 1978. He led Raymond Land Service, Inc. until 1986, serving a broad portfolio of clients including Quaker State Oil Company and Berea Oil & Gas. Eventually, he took his team in-house at Belden and Blake, where he contributed to realizing approximately $400 million in annual revenue. Up until 1996, Charles was responsible for lease operations of over 8,000 wells and over 10,000 leases spanning 1.3M acres. Functions included lease acquisitions, land administration, land titles, negotiating joint ventures, developing operating agreements, sales and divestitures, and due diligence on corporate acquisitions.
In 2005, Charles founded Stones River Oil & Gas Co., now Stones River Exploration. Charles works across the Illinois and Appalachian Basins. He developed the drilling unit for one of the first horizontal wells in Ohio.
Charles served a three-year tour with the U.S. Navy “SeaBees” mostly in Vietnam. He attended Kent State University and studied real estate law at Malone College.
