Samuel R. Allen was born circa 1953 in Sumter, South Carolina.

[1][2] He attended Purdue University as an Evans Scholar[3] and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management in 1975.

[1][2][4] Allen started his career at John Deere in 1975, where he first worked as an industrial engineer.

[5] Allen was the chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Company from February 2010 to November 2019.

[4] In March 2020, Allen announced his retirement as board chairman of Deere & Company.