Michael built his reputation as a Game-Based Learning Innovator, Architect, and Edupreneur. He is the Founder and Chief Game-Based Learning Officer of FUNIFICATION, applying research and consultation focusing upon architecting and delivering immersive environments using serious games, workshops, and simulations for leadership development and coaching/mentoring. Michael has delivered serious games and simulation workshops and courses for universities around the world including Texas A&M, Boise State University, Westminster College, Anaheim University, Prescott College, Grand Canyon University, and Kent State University. Michael has established an exceptional record of success in educational program delivery, learning communities’ development, competency-based assessment, coaching and mentoring programs, and problem-based educational program management through innovative adult educational, corporate, and online higher education programs.

His passion is crafting performance-based faculty development and corporate Learning, Training, and Development (LT&D) experiences, along with research, teaching, and learning in higher education. Michael would say he aspires to be the educator who facilitates an epiphany moment for other faculty members and learners he has the honor and privilege to coach and mentor.

Michael has never subscribed to the “sage on the stage” paradigm in higher education or corporate learning and development. Working as the “guide on the side,” Michael has demonstrated success in the delivery of facilitated educational experiences that create reflective educational practices to stimulate personal and professional development.

Kevin Allen is Founder & CEO of EI Games, creators of Emotional Intelligent business simulation games. This multi-award winning game-based learning company innovates in business simulations games, including gold award winning Emotional Intelligent Leadership and Student Success games. EI Games simulations, called Real Reality, are at Universities like Arizona State, Harvard, NYU and companies like Cisco, UBS and Google.

Kevin was key to the transformation of traditional ad agency McCann Erickson to a contemporary multidisciplinary powerhouse, McCann WorldGroup, becoming global agency of the year for two years running. He moved up to holding company The Interpublic Group and was named its Chief Growth Officer, creating the very first holding company growth and cross company collaboration initiative which drove tens of millions in new revenues and was core to IPG’s successful turnaround.

As Vice Chairman of Lowe Worldwide, he devised a breakthrough go to market strategy as the very first global micro-network, resulting in Lowe being named turnaround agency of the year by Ad Age.

Kevin was a leader in developing breakthrough advertising campaigns, notably the pitch for the globally famous “Priceless” campaign for MasterCard, still running in over 100 countries, 15 years after its creation.

Kevin has had landmark experiences in the public sector. He was a board member of the AIDS Quilt (The Names Project) and an early part of Rudy Giuliani’s advisory team that prepared the way for the successful Mayoral election and turnaround of the City of New York.

Kevin is a best-selling author of The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following, The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A Leadership Course for the Rising Star, and has been featured on BBC Radio’s Four Thought leadership series.
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Kevin is a Fellow at Ball State University an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Florida Atlantic University, a visiting lecturer at Columbia University and the Harvard School of Design. He is soon to join Professor Sutton as he is currently pursuing his PhD.