Grounded in Purpose.
Built on Trust.
The Allen Partners Story.
Our Story
Julie Allen
FounderI started my career at Disney in leadership roles across Entertainment Operations, International Marketing, and Brand Management. It was a high-performing, inspiring environment—and I loved it. I had strong mentors, thrived in fast-paced, strategic roles, and found fulfillment celebrating wins with a talented team and contributing to Disney’s unforgettable magic.
After relocating to Chicago for my husband’s career, I accepted a new role that seemed great during the interviews. But from the very first day, I could tell something wasn’t right. The values and culture didn’t align with how I had thrived at Disney. And while I was successful in the role, I knew early on it wasn’t where I was meant to be. It stayed with me—not as a failure, but as a turning point.
I started asking different questions:
How do these disconnects happen—and how can they be prevented?
That’s what led me to executive search. I believed it was the place where I could go deeper—bringing intuition and business insight to help companies make better decisions and help leaders avoid the kind of misalignment I had just experienced. I saw how hiring, done well, could create lasting outcomes—for the companies and for the people brought in to lead with purpose.
In 2001, I joined a top executive search firm. In 2003, I launched Allen Partners—a boutique firm built on a high-touch, service-driven model. From the start, I focused on building trusted relationships with CEOs, boards, and leadership teams—grounded in insight, alignment, and long-term success.
But more than experience, it’s the approach that’s always mattered most to me—high-touch, deeply invested, thoughtful, and intentional. I’ve never had a transactional mindset, and that difference has shaped the outcomes we’ve delivered. Our success isn’t measured by volume—it’s measured by the long-term strength of the teams we’ve built, and the impact of the people we’ve placed.
After losing my father to heart failure, I felt a deep personal connection to the Medtech industry. I wanted to be part of innovations that might have saved his life—and that purpose still drives our work today.
In 2005, my husband Rich joined the firm, inspired by the same values and vision. Together, we’ve grown Allen Partners into a business that offers excellent outcomes for our clients. We remain committed to serving our clients with trust, honor, and integrity—every step of the way.
Julie Allen
Founder and Managing Director
Julie Allen
Founder and Managing Director
Julie has nearly 25 years of executive search experience in the medtech industry. She partners with CEOs, investors and boards to identify and recruit leaders who holistically fit the company’s needs and team dynamics. She brings a vast network, a wealth of knowledge, energy, and insight. She adds a personal touch, recruiting and helping her clients build thriving teams and companies that have collectively generated billions in enterprise value since the firm’s inception in 2003.
More about Julie
Julie actively recruits C level executives and a wide range of functional Vice Presidents and Directors across the medtech sector. She is known for her ability to find the right person and energetically takes on opportunities and challenges outside the boundaries of conventional roles.
She is also a career coach for accomplished leaders as they approach key transitions or inflection points in their lives. Bringing intention and structure to their goals and interests, she dives into their professional backgrounds and offers them a wealth of insight and real-world perspective that brings clarity to their value proposition, expands their horizons, explores the possibilities, and draws out the fullness of who they are as people and leaders.
In the early 00’s, Julie joined the executive search industry and established the firm’s Medtech practice at SC Oakbrook in Chicago. She previously was the Director of Client Management at Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago; and prior to that, was a Manager in Entertainment Operations and Brand Management at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris.
Julie earned a BA from Central Michigan University. Active in the industry and community, she and her husband, Rich, live in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin with their four children.
Rich Allen
Managing Director
Rich brings nearly 20 years of executive search experience, specializing in the start-up and small to midsize medtech sector. He has a proven track record working with CEOs and executives to build innovative companies across various therapeutic areas. Rich excels in recruiting C-level executives and Vice Presidents and Directors, leveraging his deep industry knowledge to find leaders who drive success.
More about Rich
Rich is known for his unwavering commitment, expertise identifying and finding the right leaders, telling company stories with knowledge, credibility and enthusiasm, and placing talented leaders his clients never knew existed.
Rich joined Allen Partners in 2005 after 10 years in the world of professional golf as a player, teacher, leader and manager. As a member of the PGA of America, he built the teams and managed all aspects of operations for two successful golf clubs in Orlando and Chicago. He was eventually recruited to build a start-up private club, The Legend at Brandybrook, in Wales, Wisconsin. Over the course of 3 years, he built the operation, hired the team, and put the club on the map, unmatched by any other private club offering in the Midwest.
In 2005, he sought to broaden his footprint and became intrigued by the stories that Julie told him about the incredible innovations and people in the medtech industry, and the contribution she was making that went to the heart of the company’s success – it’s people, the team and how they worked together. Motivated by the possibilities, he took a monumental pivot to combine his leadership, hiring, and start-up experience, to join Julie in medtech and executive search.
Rich earned a BA from DePauw University. Active in the industry and community, Rich, and his wife, Julie, live in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin with their four children.
Executive Search Partners For Medtech Companies