Alumni Feature: Bud Moeller Fearless in Business, Race Car Driving

alumni spotlight Bud Moeller Fearless in Business, Race Car Driving

Robert C. “Bud” Moeller has never let fear stop him from pursuing his dreams, from racing to the top in the consulting world to setting speed records in some of the fastest cars in existence.

“I am fearless and relentless and go after what I want, despite the odds,” says Moeller, who earned his BS from ChBE in 1976 and went on to become a partner with both Booz Allen Hamilton and Accenture during his management consulting career.

After earning his MBA at Harvard University immediately after his undergraduate studies, Moeller’s increasing success in consulting enabled him to buy his first Ferrari at age 26.

Cars had grown into a passion for Moeller since he learned to drive the high-performance 1967 Mustang he convinced his father to buy as a family car.

“I read everything I could get my hands on and became car crazy for life,” he says.

By 32, he’d started racing semiprofessionally, first in Indy-type cars and then in Formula Ones.

In his thirty-plus years racing cars, he’s broken the record at six different tracks in a Ferrari Formula One (five of which still hold).

Built for Speed

Moeller, who competes in about a dozen races annually, has survived several big crashes where he was “damaged pretty badly,” including shattering his neck, an injury that required the installation of plates and screws in 2015.

“That can happen when you’re pushing the envelope of physics at every corner and every lap,” says Moeller, who is a brand ambassador for Ferrari.

Solving Management Challenges

Moeller says his no-fear mentality has also applied to his career in business consulting. “Solving tough management problems for business is a rush and a great challenge,” he says.

Moeller, who spent 20 years with Booz Allen Hamilton and five with Accenture, was inducted into the College of Engineering’s Academy of Outstanding Young Alumni in 2002 and Alumni Hall of Fame in 2018.

“I appreciated the fact that Tech was willing to honor my career in business and all the things I’ve accomplished, even though I wasn’t practicing as an engineer,” Moeller says.

Georgia Tech’s strong reputation and attractive package for National Merit Scholars attracted Moeller to study chemical engineering here.

Leading the Way

During his sophomore year at Tech, Moeller’s uncle, a businessman, asked him what he’d like to do for work, and Moeller realized he’d “be more satisfied in the leadership ranks than designing piping and pumping systems for refineries.”

Hired by Booz Allen Hamilton right after Harvard, Moeller initially focused on corporate strategy and eventually evolved into organization, teamwork, and leadership to enable total corporate transformation.

Now vice president of corporate strategy for Mobius, Moeller has worked with companies around the world in almost every industry.

After leaving Accenture in 2002, he decided to focus on pro bono consulting work for nonprofit organizations. He has served on 10 boards, including ChBE’s External Advisory Board, where he helped with the School’s latest strategic plan.

“This is the most fabulous stage of life,” says Moeller, who divides his time between Melbourne, Florida, and McLean, Virginia, often flying himself and his wife Carol (who have two grown children) in his own turboprop plane.

“I’m able to use my talents and experience to help organizations that can’t afford outside consultants. All of these organizations are charged with reaching big objectives, and if I can craft an approach to help get there, I feel really satisfied.”