Craig Belanger, Managing Partner
Craig Belanger is a co-founder and managing partner of BCE Consulting. For sixteen years he has provided support to a variety of Fortune 500, middle market, and venture stage clients as a strategic advisor. Craig has experience in core and adjacent market strategy development, market analysis, customer and competitor assessment, M&A support, and business capture.
At BCE, Craig is responsible for leading our Industrials sector practice and co-leading our Private Equity practice. Additionally, as a senior partner he has responsibility for supporting strategic assessments across other practice verticals, including technology and consumer, as well as responsibility for firm operations as a member of the management committee.
Prior to founding BCE Consulting, Craig led the Defense & Industrials practice group at The Beacon Group, which served Fortune 500 clients across aerospace, defense, government, manufacturing, automotive, and energy verticals. Before leading the Defense & Industrials practice group, Craig was the firm’s COO and Aerospace & Defense practice team leader. He ran all the firm’s operations making sure the senior team had all the resources needed to successfully sell and deliver world-class engagement deliverables. This ranged from consultants to IT and telecommunications equipment to the physical plant. In addition to his firm-level responsibilities, Craig led client relationships with many leading Aerospace & Defense industry players.
Craig has written and spoken on a variety of national security, commercial aerospace, and manufacturing topics. He is active on several charitable boards in New England and is a former candidate for political office. Currently, he serves as the president of the Winter Foundation, a non-profit operating a summer basketball camp in Maine, and serving campers regardless of financial ability to pay. He is the former moderator of Woodfords Congregational Church, U.C.C., and served on its board of directors for over a decade.
Craig earned an MA in History from the University of San Diego and a BA with distinction in Government from Colby College.
Richard Crumb, Managing Partner
Richard Crumb is a co-founder and managing partner of BCE Consulting based in Menlo Park, CA. He has more than 15 years of experience in strategy consulting, transaction support, business development, and commercial engagement across a variety of industries. In over 400 projects, he has helped clients develop corporate and business unit strategy, build strategic and business plans, evaluate adjacent markets and whitespaces, evolve business models, and supported in a variety of transaction-related activities.
Richard is responsible for leading BCE’s Healthcare practice and co-leads our Private Equity practice area. In addition to client-facing work, Richard serves on BCE’s management committee as head of finance.
Prior to BCE, Richard led the Healthcare & Life Sciences practice area at The Beacon Group for a span of 6+ years. In this capacity, he advised industry leaders across the medical device, pharmaceutical & biotech, diagnostic, and health IT markets on organic and inorganic growth strategy. While at Beacon, Richard had the opportunity to lead client relationships with 6 of the top 10 largest medical device companies, 4 of the top 6 largest pharma companies, and a host of other innovative, smaller companies.
Prior to assuming a practice leadership position, Richard worked across Beacon’s Healthcare & Life Sciences, Technology, and Aerospace, Government & Defense practice teams managing client relationships and delivering project work.
Before joining Beacon, Richard worked at FreshTracks Capital and EatingWell Magazine in research and marketing functions.
Richard has written several whitepapers and developed frameworks on topics ranging from innovation strategy, portfolio strategy, segmentation, customer engagement, and novel business models.
Richard holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a BA in Economics from Middlebury College.
Rachel Eschle, Partner
Rachel Eschle is a co-founder and partner at BCE Consulting. She has over 11 years of experience in strategy consulting, strategic planning, business development, and market research and analysis developed through hundreds of projects across a range of industries.
In her current role, Rachel leads BCE’s Technology practice and supports client relationships with diversified companies that serve multiple industries. In the past year alone, her thought leadership and growth strategy expertise has served BCE’s clients across its Industrials, Healthcare, Technology, and Private Equity practice verticals.
Rachel led The Beacon Group’s Industrial Practice team for over 5 years. She advised industry leading automation, manufacturing, and power equipment companies across a range of markets and challenges. These engagements included adjacent market evaluation and entry strategy, M&A support, go to market strategy for new capabilities and businesses, and trend assessments. Clients included Fortune 500 component and system OEMs serving automotive, building systems, manufacturing, oil and gas, power, and commercial refrigeration markets, among others.
Prior to and concurrent with her work in the Industrial sector, Rachel managed Beacon’s relationships with market-leading Technology companies for more than 5 years. Rachel provided thought leadership on navigating technology and business model transformations, including SDN/NFV, enterprise cloud migration, and the introduction of XaaS models across market segments and capabilities. Additionally, she supported the commercialization of new technologies, including blockchain, 3D printing, machine learning, network security technology, and IoT services and solutions.
Rachel graduated with honors from Connecticut College in 2007, earning her BA in Slavic Studies. Currently, she serves on the boards of the Keene Young Professionals Network (KYPN) and the Monadnock Center for Violent Prevention (MCVP Crisis and Prevention Center), and has served as MCVP’s Treasurer since January 2018.