James Allen Founder, Abubilla Music

James (Jimmy) Allen is a senior director and member of the board of Bain & Company, a global management consultancy, where he co-heads the firm’s Global Strategy practice. He has 20 years of experience in international business and has worked in Africa extensively during that time.

Jimmy launched Abubilla Music in 2008, a small label dedicated to developing young recording artists.  The following year he began developing the idea for the Singing Wells project with Ketebul Music, sharing their passion for preserving and promoting the traditional music of East Africa.

Jimmy has an MBA from Harvard University and an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins. He is a dual US-British citizen and has lived in the United Kingdom, with his wife and three children, since 1995.  He is chair of trustees for The Abubilla Music Foundation.

During the Singing Wells field recording trips Jimmy is a volunteer video engineer and writes daily field reports about for the project website.