Meet Richard

As Booz Allen’s chief growth officer, Richard Crowe is executing his vision to build a best-in-class business development organization aligned to the firm’s business strategy and growth. His team is responsible for enterprise-level organic growth strategy, including strategic market analysis, pipeline, business intelligence, teaming, capture, and proposals.

Rich previously led Booz Allen’s Health business, where he oversaw a team of more than 2,700 technologists, scientists, clinicians, and consultants supporting mission-critical initiatives, including modernization of major electronic health records systems and the application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare space. Prior to that, Rich presided over the firm’s entire portfolio of work supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He has more than 30 years of strategy development and technology delivery experience.

Before joining Booz Allen in 2004, Rich was the chief technical officer at PlasmaSol Corp. There he led a team of engineers, physicists, chemists, and technicians in developing custom plasma-based applications for dual use in counterterrorism and medical applications. He also provided technical leadership in intellectual property management and product development proposal assessments, as well as expertise on technology strategy plan development and merger and acquisition strategies.

Rich is the author of seven patents related to the method and application of non-equilibrium plasmas.

He has a B.E. in electrical engineering from State University of New York Maritime College and an M.S. in technology management from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Why is Booz Allen ideal for someone with your skills and expertise? I tell people all the time that Booz Allen is a large company that encouraged me to let my entrepreneurial bent shine through. I took the success factors I learned in small business and came here. Booz Allen is right for me because we’re allowed to be bold. We’re allowed to think differently. We’re not locked into certain lanes. We’re allowed to question the status quo, as long as you’ve got a plan to move forward.

What are your top tips for managing and motivating people? Authenticity. People want to know the truth about where you see the market and where you’re headed. Frequently and accurately communicating with our staff allows us to hear what their aspirations are and see how that fits in to where we’re headed with a firm. Constant dialogue at all levels has been the secret sauce at Booz Allen during my 12 years here. Being able to collaborate as a team is what makes us totally different from our competitors. The way we go into client engagements is totally different from our competitors. You can’t have authenticity until you have a dialogue.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? True innovation starts with your staff. If you forget that, you’ve lost something. What makes Google a great company isn’t its algorithms; it’s the people. What makes Booz Allen the preeminent firm is what each individual staff member brings. We as leaders are responsible for making each person achieve their maximum potential. In other words, technology has a first and last name.

Before you became Booz Allen’s chief growth officer, you led the firm’s Health business, and a big part of that portfolio is work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. What excited you most about working with that agency? The work we were doing was transformational to the way veterans receive their benefits. From healthcare to benefits delivery, we’re still doing work that’s transforming the way the VA delivers these services—things like implementing a veterans benefits management system and other next-generation IT to give veterans quicker access to benefits. Efforts like that improve the continuity of contact between the VA and those it serves. For me, and for everyone on our team, this kind of work is more than just a job. It’s a way to change the world by creating a lasting positive impact for our nation’s veterans. 

What did you want to be when you grew up? An engineer at NASA. My father was a merchant marine, so I was also interested in that, seeing the world and being on ships. I’ve always had a sense of exploration and desire to do something unknown and different.

Favorite vacation spot? I go to Disney every year with my kids. I can be a kid with my kids. For me, it’s a place where I can unplug from the pressures of the world.

Biggest challenge? Time. To live an accomplished life and do everything you want to do, the one thing we don’t have enough of is time. You can usually find more of other resources, but you only have so much time.

Where do you see the firm going in the next 100 years? It’s like the Star Trek theme: to boldly go where no one’s gone before. To move forward, we’ll have to boldly take on missions that will make the most impact for our clients and our nation. I think we’re in the best position to boldly lead into a future of uncertainty.