Allan joined the agricultural economics faculty at Purdue University in August 1998. Allan currently holds the position of Land O’Lakes Chair in Food and Agribusiness. He works with food and agribusiness managers across the U.S. and internationally providing industry insights and strategy facilitations.  He also teaches professional development seminars and workshops in the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue.  Allan also teaches strategic agribusiness management in the undergraduate and graduate programs. Allan’s research interests are agribusiness management, strategic planning, decision under uncertain innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Allan also serves the executive director of the Digital Innovation in Agri-food Systems LAB (DIAL).  In this capacity, Allan provides strategic direction for market research and new business development.  Allan works with the annual cohort of DIAL Fellows to identify industry challenges and create new startup companies to bring digital innovation to the industry that helps improve transparency, traceability, efficiency, resiliency and food safety across the food system.

Allan has won numerous awards, including the American Agricultural Economics Association’s (AAEA) Distinguished Extension/Outreach Program Award, the Purdue University Dean’s Team Award and the United States Distance Learning Association’s Excellence in Distance Teaching Award. In 2012, he received the inaugural Early Career Leadership Award from the National Association of Agricultural Economics Administrators.

A native Texan, Allan and his wife, Stephanie, have two daughters and a son.