James Allen

James Allen formerly led our Global Strategy practice, is the founder of the firm's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice and is a member of the Consumer Products and Technology practices. In addition, he is a co-chair of Bain Futures, our proprietary global think tank. He has served two terms on Bain's board of directors.

James is a recognized leading expert in developing global corporate and business unit strategy. With more than 25 years of consulting experience, he has worked extensively for multinational companies in consumer products, oil and gas, technology and telecommunications, healthcare, and other industries. He advises clients on the development of global growth strategies, emerging market entry strategies and turnaround strategies.

James published his third book, The Founder's Mentality (Harvard Business Review Press), in 2016. The Founder's Mentality examines how founder-led companies successfully scale without losing their entrepreneurial spirit.

He has also authored several best-selling books on the topic of growth with Harvard Business Review Press, including Repeatability: Build Enduring Businesses for a World of Constant Change (2012) and Profit from the Core: a Return to Growth in Turbulent Times (2010), an updated edition of his 2001 book, Profit from the Core: Growth Strategy in an Era of Turbulence. In addition, James has written numerous articles with Harvard Business Review Press and other business publications.

He speaks at many conferences on growth strategy and is quoted frequently on the subject in international and local business media outlets.

James earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School.