Meet the Team

Clay Schmidt

Clay Schmidt
General Manager 

“I first worked with Richard Bennett at Peak Drilling Services in 2004,” says Clay Schmidt. “I was a country bloke, flying helicopters in the Kimberley, who came to Perth chasing opportunities. I started at the grass roots level and progressed through the organization. When the company sold I stayed with them and moved into an operational management role. When the time arose to come back and work with the original team at Strike Drilling I jumped at the opportunity, and here we are again! I’ve been in West Australia for a decade now, as long as I’ve been in exploration and drilling, and it’s been a very rewarding partnership .” 

Craig Chitty
Safety & Compliance Manager

“I started as a drilling offsider in the bush in ’95,” says Craig Chitty, “and a half-dozen years later Richard Bennett called me up looking for workers at Peak Drilling Services. Through Richard I was offered the opportunity to work in the office, and that side of the business really took off for me. After the sale of Peak Drilling I continued in management roles, looking after water well contracts and successfully completing an oil and gas program in the Cooper Basin.” When the opportunity arose to be a part of the Strike Drilling start-up Chitty leapt at the chance to put his 18-years of field work and management experience, in exploration and water well drilling, to further use. 

Craig Chitty