About SOAR BEYOND

We make your success our mission.

SOAR BEYOND supports b2b, b2g, and b2c enterprises through strategic executive consultation services.

Our approach — and your results — are backed by our 50+ years of leadership expertise in aviation technology and intelligence, supply chain logistics and risk management, institutional governance, and green and renewable technology. SOAR BEYOND is a Disabled Veteran-Owned and Women-Owned Small Business Certified firm headquartered in Big Sky, Montana. Serving clients across the country and around the world, SOAR BEYOND specializes in strategic consulting and advising for mission-driven organizations, agencies, and investors across a broad spectrum of sectors.

Our Approach

We partner with innovators, leaders, and people that dream of making a difference.

Our Expertise

SOAR BEYOND offers key expertise, unique perspectives, and valuable connections, which allows our clients to navigate the nuances of starting or evolving their business or government contract with confidence and clear purpose.

SOAR BEYOND does things differently, with integrity leading the way. We tell you what you need to know — not just what you want to hear. And we lean into our strengths, clearing a path through the complexities of each new challenge so you can focus on what you do best.

What to Expect

  • 01.

    Diverse perspectives and valuable insight — two distinct viewpoints tackling each problem and cultivating more resilient solutions

  • 02.

    Hands-on approach and highly personalized service — you work exclusively with the experts, the principals, and our partners directly

  • 03.

    Decades of expertise, top-level training, and skillful collaboration — allowing us to listen closely and see past the symptoms to help address core foundational issues

  • 04.

    Connections from our networks of innovators, investors, and leaders within your niche and other industries with parallel paths for mutual b2b, b2g, and b2c success

  • 05.

    Mentoring and advising — building your skills alongside your strategy

Our Core Values

SOAR BEYOND goes beyond providing value-based consulting — our work is values-based.

That means every decision we make, down to the smallest confidential detail, is true to our personal moral code and stands in alignment with doing what's right, not what's easy -- for our clients, their communities, and the world.

We help our clients build an unshakeable ethical foundation in addition to an unparalleled strategy to support their far-reaching impact and success.

  • INTEGRITY: We work to do our very best, with honesty and ethics deserving of our clients’ trust.

  • PASSION: Put simply, we love what we do. Our passion is the difference between just getting the job done, and getting it done well.

  • SERVICES: We focus on exceptional deliverables and a positive experience, all rooted in client-centric thinking.

  • INNOVATION: Our consistent question remains: how can we best facilitate making it better? We apply a creative lens to improving our what, why, and how.

  • TEAMWORK: We work with our clients and partners towards common goals with a collaborative mindset, and seek solutions that benefit the best interests of all stakeholders.

  • COMMUNITY: Building community establishes mutual understanding, clear communication, and lasting trust. We provide value and achieve better outcomes by creating connections.

About our Leadership Team

Unmatched expertise, collaborative approach, and key network connections — our capabilities support your success.

Contact Us
 

Erin Cluff

  • Specialist in scouting emergent green tech and nurturing business opportunities through her well-resourced network of connections

  • Proven, accomplished strategist with over two decades of expertise in diverse leadership roles and a reputation for effectively solving complex problems

  • Award-winning executive and communicator with deep understanding of how data analysis, relationship cultivation, and experience-backed intuition influence successful outcomes — from creating profits, to protecting personnel and equipment 

  • Unmatched expertise in supply chain management and operations evaluation for large-scale global enterprises

  • Executive coach and strategist for building collaborative, multifunctional teams and developing effective, visionary operational leadership

  • Erin Cluff is CEO and Managing Partner of SOAR BEYOND. An accomplished strategic leader with over 25 years of experience, Erin is known for her exceptional capacity to forge win-win connections between people and possibilities.

    Erin draws from experience in roles ranging from Air Force Colonel, Commander, emergency response leader, logistics wartime strategist, and coach and mentor to senior international military leaders. She understands how to assess a rapidly evolving situation, navigate the complexities of supply chains and timelines, and achieve highly successful outcomes for stakeholders with divergent agendas — all while protecting critical security, compliance, and discretionary needs. Trusted by high-performing individuals and organizations, including the Secretary of the Air Force and multi-billion-dollar international companies, Erin has a proven track record as a motivational leader, expert consultant, and decisive change agent.

    Erin cultivates meaningful relationships and business opportunities by facilitating “right place, right time” connections. Her keen eye for economic trends, analytic background in chemistry and environmental science, and infallible understanding of real-world feasibility make her well-known as a green tech authority and emergent startup scout. Erin spots synergies and scaling potential, helping her clients connect with their dream partners for organic, co-aligned success.

    Whether consulting on infrastructure developments, investment ROIs, or risk management, Erin helps clients clarify and execute strategically in everything from large-scale deployments and environmental impacts to acquisitions, expansions, and leadership training. With deep expertise in supply chain management, budget requirements, and logistics, Erin has built a career out of tackling complex, rapidly-evolving situations, bringing to bear all available resources to create and execute plans where precedent does not exist or does not apply, and deftly facilitating mutually beneficial solutions.

    Passionate about supporting her community, Erin works to usher in a better future for good people and purpose-driven organizations — donating her expertise to benefit entrepreneurs and other women business owners. She mentors for Montana 56 Strong, Prospera, and elementary school students. She served on the National Small Business Leadership Council and currently serves on the Big Sky Community Housing Trust Board of Directors.

James Cluff

  • Internationally-recognized expert in unmanned, remote, and autonomous systems

  • USAF preeminent senior leader in the fields of unmanned aircraft, global manned and unmanned airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations

  • US Government-certified aviation mishap investigator and commercial aviation safety expert

  • Combat-proven executive leadership

  • Extensive experience in international security and Partner Nation defense capability development

  • Able to help distinct organizations and personalities into collaborative, effective, and high-performing collective community

  • James “Cliffy” Cluff is a Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer of SOAR BEYOND. James is an internationally recognized expert in the field of airborne remotely operated/autonomous vehicles. He retired from the United States Air Force in 2020 as its preeminent senior leader in the field of unmanned aircraft as well as global manned and unmanned airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. A combat-tested fighter pilot with a reputation for outstanding leadership, he was hand-picked by senior USAF leaders in 2006 to assist in leading the nascent remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) enterprise during its rapid growth. Over the next fifteen years, he brought innovation and operational focus to the community, growing the enterprise to a truly global force.

    Upon retirement from the USAF, James brought his technical, collaboration, and leadership skills to the commercial, research, and education sectors. He performs in a senior advisor/analyst role for several consulting and management firms including Jones Group International, Kearney Middle East, Deep Water Point, and Victory Six Advisors. He is an Advisory Board member for Frontier Technologies and Fortem Technologies. James is an adjunct research staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. At IDA, he specializes in working with our Indo-Pacific regional partners to develop their defense institution capabilities.

    One of his passions is teaching and he is an adjunct instructor at Montana State University’s Gallatin College. He teaches within Gallatin’s aviation department, specializing in aviation safety and FAA ground school instruction. He is a Certified Flight Instructor-Instrument and holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument, single-engine, and multi-engine ratings. He is also a Part 107 FAA-certified sUAS pilot.

    James possesses the innate ability to rapidly bring together disparate organizations and personalities into a high-performing community garnering successful outcomes. Possessing a natural charisma, his vision, strategic focus, and self-confidence will be a true force multiplier to any team.