Randy L. Allen

Biography

Randy L. Allen is an associate teaching professor of management and consultant in residence at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. She is an emeritus member of Johnson’s Advisory Council, past president of the President’s Council of Cornell Women, a life member of University Council and a former advisor to the Consulting Club. She is also a frequent contributor to the press on retail issues.

Allen teaches Management Consulting Essentials for undergraduates and non-MBA graduate students, as well as Consulting Problem-Solving Process for students entering consulting. Her teaching focuses on marketing, global business, technology and strategy. She also served as faculty for Big Red Consulting, a student-run consulting firm, and for the Management Practicum, where students complete consulting projects for Fortune 500 companies.

She spent more than 22 years with Deloitte Consulting, concentrating on consumer business and serving clients in retail, distribution, consumer goods and apparel manufacturing. Allen’s work included strategy, marketing, technology and operations. She is the author of Bottom Line Issues in Retailing, POS Current Trends and Beyond, OCR Cost Benefit Guide and numerous industry articles and speeches.

Before joining Cornell, Allen held several leadership roles at Kmart Corp., including senior vice president of strategic planning and business initiatives, executive vice president for strategic initiatives, chief diversity officer and executive vice president of strategic planning and CIO. She led major initiatives in infrastructure, supply chain, marketing, business analysis and strategic planning, resulting in significant gains in productivity and profitability. She also served as chairman of the board of Bluelight.com LLC, Kmart’s e commerce venture, where she restructured the business and set it on a path to profitability. Earlier in her career, Allen worked for Phillips Van Heusen Corp., Boeing Computer Services and IBM.

Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Cornell University.

Education

BA Cornell University, 1968