Christopher Allen
General Manager for Best Buy's Digital Entertainment Services
Chris is responsible for the vision, strategic direction and overall growth strategy for both the Napster and CinemaNow businesses. A seasoned digital executive with unique expertise in product portfolio management, marketing, and digital entertainment/media, Allen has been a catalyst for business opportunities at the intersection of media, technology, and e-commerce for over 14 years. Prior to joining Napster in 2007, Allen served as Vice President, Product Strategy, Design, and Marketing at Blockbuster Online and was responsible for driving all elements of the Blockbuster website and the online customer experience. The subscriber base more than doubled to over 3.5M in nine months while gross margins increased via retail store integration, improved product mix and availability, and online efficiencies. Before joining Blockbuster, Allen served as VP of Product Strategy and Marketing at Yahoo! and was responsible for driving the global product vision and the strategic product and service roadmap for Yahoo! Music. Allen oversaw the global media products and premium service lines of business and all aspects of product management and product planning for Yahoo! Music products, services, and emerging platforms. Allen joined Yahoo! in 2004 with the company's acquisition of Musicmatch. As SVP of Marketing and Strategic Planning at Musicmatch, Allen directed the overall product and consumer marketing strategy, including customer acquisition and retention strategies for premium software and subscription services. Allen managed key consumer marketing initiatives including merchandising, e-commerce, and partner marketing activities as the Musicmatch user base exploded ten-fold in less than five years. Mr. Allen was also chartered with analyzing future product trends to evaluate integration of digital music services into emerging technologies and devices. During Allen's tenure at Musicmatch, the company received seven consecutive PC Magazine Editors' Choice awards for excellence and countless accolades for leadership in digital music products and services. Prior to joining Musicmatch in early 2000, Allen was co-founder and head of product marketing and strategic planning at Kablink, an online photo service company. Previously, Christopher spent more than 10 years in product management at pioneering companies AT&T and NCR working on data warehouse decision support, predictive analysis, and business intelligence/CRM initiatives. Allen received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, an M.S. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego. He has competed in amateur bodybuilding and for the past 20 years has volunteered as the head powerlifting coach for local Special Olympics athletes.