Allen Sykes is an Englishman, partly educated in America.

He is a former managing director of Consolidated Gold Fields, has held senior positions in a number of major British based international companies, particularly in the capital intensive industries of mining, energy, natural resources and transport. He has also held a number of international non-executive directorships.

He was co-author with A J Merrett of the influential best seller The Finance and Analysis of Capital Projects, which was a pioneer in the introduction of modern financial and risk analysis techniques. He is the author of Capitalism for Tomorrow - Re-Uniting Ownership and Control, published by Capstone in July 2000. With Robert Monks, he was the co-author of the November 2002 booklet, Capitalism without Owners will Fail: A Policymaker's Guide to Reform, published in New York and London by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI).

The reform of Anglo-American shareholder capitalism - the return to its successful roots to be responsive to the long-term interests of its individual and beneficial shareholders - and thus, of the main stakeholders and of society in general, is one of his main interests.