Background

Allen is a Cambodian-American author, entrepreneur, and product designer with over 12 years of experience in Cambodia. He is the author of Essential Cambodia: A Guide for Foreign Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Managers and Advisor to the Council for Development of Cambodia. Currently, he is the Director of the Mekong Future Initiative (MFI), a think-tank based in Singapore; Director of Bluebell Cambodia, a subsidiary of the global luxury retail management giant Bluebell Group; Group Vice President of WorldBridge Group (Cambodia) in charge of venture building and greenfield projects; and strategic advisor to multiple companies based in Cambodia, Singapore, and the United States.

Allen served as President of the American Chamber of Commerce Cambodia for two terms. He has over nine years of non-profit management experience, authoring millions of dollars in grants from international donor organizations. He is the founder of STEM Cambodia Organization, a Cambodian non-profit that runs national STEM advocacy programs, including Cambodia's largest annual STEM event, the Cambodia Science & Engineering Festival. Allen's businesses include a food processing business, and he is co-founder of a US robotics startup, Cushybots Corporation (USA), with facilities in the United States and Cambodia.

Before his work in Cambodia, Allen served seven years in the United States Army. He had 26 months of combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he earned a Bronze Star medal. Allen holds a Master of Science in Business Risk Management from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Franklyn University. He has been awarded multiple honors by the Kingdom of Cambodia for his work. In addition, he has served as an advisor to the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport on STEM education policy.