Quick Facts
Biography
Kevin Allen, (b. Sept. 17, 1954, United States) is an American bestselling author, business growth consultant and speaker. He has written two books, The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following (2012), which was a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising Star (2013) both published by Bibliomotion.
Early career
In his career in business development Kevin Allen was recognized as “one of the advertising industry’s most accomplished growth professionals” in American Express OPEN Forum. and held positions with McCann Worldgroup, The Interpublic Group, Lowe Worldwide.
- McCann Worldgroup - Executive Vice President, Worldwide Director of Global Accounts
- McCann Worldgroup - Executive Vice President, Director of Corporate Development
- Interpublic Group - Chief Growth Officer
- Lowe Worldwide - Vice Chairman
In all roles, Allen was responsible for spearheading multinational new business initiatives and integrated marketing campaigns to key global clients. For example, during his time at McCann Worldgroup, Allen led the team responsible for a number of global new business wins including MasterCard, Siemens, Microsoft Europe and Lufthansa. He was responsible for the cross-discipline servicing of multinational accounts like L'Oreal, GM, Unilever and Nestle.
As Lowe Worldwide Vice Chairman he played a pivotal role in the turnaround that named the company Ad Age’s “Turnaround Agency of the Year” in 2009.
Published Work
Allen's debut book, The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following (published by Bibliomotion, April 2012) is aimed at sharing his own insights into the world of sales and marketing The book shares techniques Allen used as a "pitch man" working for advertising holding companies, specifically noting experiences with major brands such as MasterCard, Lufthansa, Marriott International, Johnson & Johnson, Rudy Giuliani and others.
- "This entertaining book moves at a rapid clip and is full of lively anecdotes of hard-won advertising campaigns. From Mastercard's iconic "Priceless" campaign to Rudy Giuliani's mayoral campaign, Kevin Allen has seen first-hand how to effectively find, connect, and speakto the Hidden Agenda to win business unfailingly, every time." Google Books review, 17 April 2012
Allen's second book, The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising Star, weaves a "Gladwellian" personal anecdote involving missing cutlery into a course on emotionally intelligent leadership. Allen discusses the case of the missing cutlery on BBC Radio's Four Thought talk series on July 7, 2013.
rekap Inc.
In 2010, Allen created a growth consulting firm KevinAllenPartners Company. In June 2012 KevinAllenPartners Company rebranded under the name rekap Inc. specialising in growth readiness, leadership and business training. The company has offices in London, England and New York City, New York. In 2013, he launched Planet Jockey, an award winning emotional intelligent leadership game.
Allen is a visiting lecturer at Columbia University Graduate School of Business, the Cass School of Business and the European Business School at Regents College London and is a contributor to the Harvard Business Review.
Allen also serves as Dean of the Account Leadership Academy at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.