James L. Allen was one of the founders of management consultancies Booz Allen Hamilton and Booz & Company.
Mr. Allen was born on November 21, 1904, on a farm in Somerset, Kentucky. He spent his boyhood in Somerset, was educated in public schools, and graduated from Somerset High School in 1921.
He attended business college and in 1922 moved to Chicago where he worked at several jobs and attended night school. Mr. Allen graduated from Northwestern University in 1929 with a B.S. degree in Economics from the Kellogg School of Management. Kellog's [James L. Allen Center] for executive education is named for him.
Mr. Allen joined Edwin G. Booz Surveys in 1929 and was named a partner in 1936. Subsequently, the firm's name was changed to Booz Allen Hamilton and later Booz & Company. Mr. Allen provided the leadership of the firm from 1944 to 1970. This was a time of rapid growth of partners, staff, and geographic locations as well as a period of diversification in services. He headed the firm as Chairman of the Executive Committee and later, after incorporation, as Chairman of the Board. In 1970, he was named Honorary Chairman. He died in 1992.