Will Allen
Former Pittsburgh Steeler, Founder, Will Allen Foundation; Co-Founder, Nascent Group Holdings
2022
Business executive, Nonprofit founder and Exceptional athlete with 10+ years of experience in managing high-performing teams, facilitating successful outcomes and investing.
Mr. Allen co-founded Nascent Group Holdings (NGH), where he supports portfolio company executives, develops investment strategy, and provides strategic business insight by helping companies identify market opportunity, critical skill assessment and access to profound network connections for impact and growth in the areas of Technology, Energy and Real Estate. He co-led the company’s real estate acquisition and investment of $73M. He secured the joint venture of Luna Energy Partners and assisted in Luna’s revenue growth by 30%.
Before co-founding NGH, Mr. Allen led investments through Collaborative Investment Advisors, in early and late stage high tech companies at an enterprise value of $100M, spanning from Pittsburgh to Silicon Valley.
Prior to building a strong technology portfolio, Mr. Allen played 12 years in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he played in a Super Bowl, multiple playoff games and was a team captain. During Mr. Allen’s tenure in the NFL, he developed meaningful relationships with athletes, influencers, c-suite executives and brands.
Mr. Allen attended The Ohio State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications. He also earned executive education certificates from Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management. He has worked for utility company National Grid and with Congressman Bobby Rush in his capacity as a member of the Congressional Energy and Power subcommittee where he was part of the team that analyzed the Department of Energy’s request and appropriation budget of $29B.
Mr. Allen is involved in the community as well. He is a mentor to entrepreneurs. He serves on the Allegheny County and City of Pittsburgh’s Partner4Work Board of Director’s, he serves on the City of Pittsburgh’s Advisory Board for Entrepreneurship & Start-Ups and also the Green Building Alliance Board of Director’s.
The inaugural Eradicate Hate Summit was a truly impressive gathering of leaders dedicated to finding lasting and effective solutions to violent extremism. I was particularly moved by the prominence given to survivors and family members of victims of hate and violence throughout the event. Their stories and those of so many others must be at the center of what we do and why we do it.
