Rachel Babcock is a director at ScottMadden and has been with the firm since 2015. She has worked across both Energy and C&SS practices, although she admits she has primarily worked on C&SS projects over the last few years. She serves on the leadership team of the Supply Chain CoP and Women@Scottmadden ERG and is an active member of the F&A and System Enablement CoPs. In addition to an M.B.A. from Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, she holds dual B.A. and B.S. degrees in international business and French from Georgia State University, as well as a certificate in international business and economics from the University of Paris, Sorbonne.
En Route, Déjà (Already on Her Way)
From a young age, Rachel Babcock was determined to do things her own way and usually a few steps ahead of schedule. The daughter of two lifelong learners, she spent her childhood weaving through college campuses as her
parents collected degrees across the country. Their nomadic lifestyle took the family from Georgia to Oklahoma, Massachusetts to California. On each new campus, Rachel remembers getting involved in university life: like tagging along to class with her mother, coloring on the floor of The University of Oklahoma law library, and participating in family events that earned her junior fan club t-shirts (she was a “junior boomer sooner” and a “junior bulldog”).
The constant change bred adaptability, but it also revealed an early, unmistakable streak of independence and a healthy dose of competition. When her older sister learned to ride a bike, so did Rachel. “I could hardly reach the pedals, but somehow I figured it out.” That drive extended into gymnastics, where she was able to train alongside top athletes and develop a taste for goal setting, discipline, and pushing through difficult tasks. Though she concedes that her sister may have been more naturally talented, Rachel’s tenacity kept her climbing and qualified her for several Junior Olympic competitions.
At the age of 16, her next challenge was attending college at Georgia Tech. Being too young to stay in the dorms, Rachel’s father would have to drop her off at campus each day. Between industrial engineering classes, Rachel tutored student athletes in calculus. Then, the summer before turning 18, she made her boldest move yet—flying to Paris alone to study economics. “I’d never been abroad,” she recalls. “But I just got on a plane and figured it out.”
Originally intended to be one semester, the stay lasted a year and a half. “I would often skip meals during the week, so I could use the money to travel and explore on the weekends. I didn’t want to leave. I loved the city, the culture, and the slower, more thoughtful pace.”
Joie de Vivre (The Joy of Living)
Rachel returned from France with fluency in French and a deeper understanding of herself. Back in the States, she met a freshly minted lawyer, Jeffrey, with whom she fell in love and eventually married. After graduation, Rachel
spent a few years in industry roles at Kubota Tractor and Coca-Cola before returning to Georgia Tech to pursue her M.B.A. It was there that she discovered ScottMadden. “I’d done internal consulting roles before, and I liked problem-solving. Consulting just made sense to me.”
But it wasn’t just the work that kept her going. Over time, Rachel discovered something that reminded her of those slower, more intentional Parisian moments. “Early in my career, I wanted to be the smartest in the room. But eventually I realized it doesn’t matter how good your work is if no one listens, no one acts, or if you aren’t solving the right problems in the first place.” Her focus shifted from output to impact. “Now, I care more about building relationships and truly helping others succeed. That’s more fulfilling than anything.” As a director, Rachel has come to value fostering connections and working alongside her clients or team to shape solutions together, ensuring everyone feels ownership in the outcome.
L’Art de Équilibre (The Art of Balance)
Rachel’s life today is a blend of that drive and grace, structure, and spontaneity. By day, she leads complex client engagements. Off the clock, she dives into the tactile and unpredictable—riding horses, playing polo, and painting in her home studio. “I used to think I wasn’t the creative one in the family,” she says. “Then I started messing around with oils and charcoal, and it became this unexpected outlet.”
She and her husband also spend a lot of time with their Golden Retriever, Letty. For Rachel, training Letty has become yet another pastime and challenge. She likes to mix conventional tricks like “sit” or “shake” with more whimsical tricks like “a little to the left.” To Letty’s credit, she’s easily picked up on her family’s overachieving qualities.
Through it all, Rachel still carries the lessons of her childhood as an independent, driven “latchkey” kid. Yet it’s her ability to blend that fierce determination with a genuine commitment to connection and empowering others that gives her life and work a certain je ne sais quoi.