Les Allen Jr.

President & CEO

 

Company founder, Les Allen, Jr. was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  At an early age, Mr. Allen jumped into the cold and deep entrepreneurial waters when he opened what he and his mother called “Leslie’s Popcorn Shop” in his neighborhood in 1980.  

 

After graduating from Hampton University in 1990, Les developed his business savvy by building several successful businesses, primarily through strategic partnerships. Over the last 30+ years, he has mastered the art of the 3 P’s, patience, planning and perseverance, which he considers to be the fundamental foundation of a successful entrepreneur.  Les has owned and operated several businesses, including an Afrocentric bookstore, an automated tunnel carwash, a nightclub, a commercial development company, Burger King restaurants, an automatic coin operated laundry facility, and a construction company to name a few.

 

Les has over 27 years of experience in all aspects of housing and construction services.  He has worked in various positions from site supervision to the C-Suite, so he understands every aspect of each project that he has underway.  He has served as an Assistant Director of Housing for the City of Dallas.  During his tenure there, close to $40M of infrastructure improvements, commercial, mixed-use, and affordable housing development took place.  Les’ ability to develop and implement aggressive project schedules is a major component in keeping the complex projects that he manages on track. He has a proven record of taking projects from start to finish under budget and on-time. Under his leadership BSC Solutions Group, Inc. dba The BlackStar Companies – a construction & energy services firm, has been recognized for the firm’s Dedication, Commitment and Successes.  

 

His FAITH in God’s Plan for him, facilitates the rationale for his success.  Les always says “I have been BLESSED to have people on my team who are smarter than I am, and they TRUST my LEADERSHIP abilities enough to help me execute my vision.”