Allen, who was vice-president of US marketing for ready-to-eat cereals, replaces Guy Longworth who left the company last week to "pursue other interests" after 18 months in the job.
Allen, a Canadian by nationality, joined Kellogg's Canadian office from McCann-Erickson in 1997 after 12 years in the advertising industry.
After an initial assignment at the company, he moved to the company's headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan as director of innovation, where he launched the Pokemon cereal and Special K Red Berries.
Allen was promoted to his most recent role in January 2001, where he was involved in recapturing the company's position in the US cereal market.
When Allen takes up his post at the Manchester-based company on July 1, his first task will be to focus on growing the cereal business and expanding convenience foods in the UK, the company said in a statement.
He will report to Kellogg's UK managing director Paul Norman.
Kellogg has had an uphill struggle in the UK over the past two years to retain its market share in the face of mounting competition from Nestle and Weetabix.
Early speculation indicated that the job would likely go to an internal candidate, following the company's most recent senior appointments.
Longworth was promoted to UK marketing director in 1999 after a 20-month search following the departure of Mark Sims, who left in April 1998. Before Longworth was appointed, the post had been tipped to go to Joe Ennen until he resigned in June 1999.
In a statement, Kellogg added that Longworth's departure had been "by mutual, amicable agreement".
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