Jim Bannon is a seasoned technology leader with over 30 years of experience, specializing in the insurance domain with deep expertise in Policy Administration and Rating systems. As Principal Engineer at Allstate Northern Ireland, Jim leads more than 30 digital product teams within the Digital Protection organization, driving innovation and engineering excellence across Allstate's U.S. and Canadian insurance platforms.
Recently, Jim expanded his leadership to include the Allstate Canada Engineering group, where he brings his deep knowledge of Allstate's transformation journey — championing Outcome-Based Delivery and a strong Product Mindset. His influence has been pivotal in aligning engineering outcomes with business value, particularly in delivering high-impact, customer-centric solutions.
A passionate advocate for modern engineering practices, Jim has successfully embedded Extreme Programming (XP) principles into the engineering culture, accelerating delivery, enhancing quality, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.
Since joining Allstate NI over two decades ago, Jim has held leadership roles across Life Systems, Infrastructure, and Core Insurance Products. Prior to Allstate, he held key roles at NevadeTele.com, IMRGlobal, Logicom, and a Healthcare Trust, gaining hands-on experience in product management and enterprise software engineering.
Jim holds a BSc in Computer Science from Queen's University Belfast and an MSc in Information Technology from the University of Ulster. He has also earned certifications as a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer and Project Management Professional.
Outside of work, Jim enjoys running, cycling, and walking his dogs along the beaches of Downings in Donegal with his wife Paula and their five children.
