Meet Richard

Richard Crowe leads Booz Allen’s civil business and is a member of our leadership team. He drives growth by modernizing and transforming missions across federal civilian departments and agencies. In his 17 years at Booz Allen, Rich has led some of the firm’s largest programs supporting challenging client missions across the business.

Previously, Rich was Booz Allen’s chief growth officer, building a best-in-class business development organization aligned to the firm’s business strategy and growth. He also 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, and in 2021 won WashingtonExec's Pinnacle Award for Business Development Executive of the Year.

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 in 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. You’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 into where we’re headed as a firm. Constant dialogue at all levels has been the secret sauce at Booz Allen during my 17 years here. 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 brings. We as leaders are responsible for helping each person achieve their maximum potential. In other words, technology has a first and last name.

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.