Former Allstate managing director is new chair of Invest NI

The Department for the Economy has announced that Londonderry man John Healy OBE has been appointed as chair of the board of Invest NI.

The public appointment of the former Allstate NI managing director was announced on Thursday.​

He will take up his position on Friday, March 1.

Mr Healy has been hailed as “a highly experienced senior executive with 30 years of experience in the technology sector, mostly gained in the financial service industry”.​

He has extensive experience in leading global teams, developing strategy and delivering solutions to address business and technology issues.​

He is currently chair of the Software Alliance, the industry-led representative voice of the £1.7 billion software industry in Northern Ireland.​

A past pupil of St Columb’s College, Mr Healy was also the managing director of Allstate NI, where he served from January 2016 to December 2022.​

Before Allstate, Mr Healy held the position of service centre head for Citi’s near shore technology and operations centre in Belfast.​

He serves on several boards including being chair of the Fellowship Advisory Board at the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building, and is a member of the Council of Ulster University and is on the Board of Business in the Community. He is past-president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce.​

In 2020, he was awarded an OBE for services to the economy and last year received the prestigious Digital DNA Global Recognition Award 2023. ​

The term of appointment of Mr Healy as chair is for a period of three years from March 1, 2024.​

It was announced three months ago that senior Industrial Development Authority (IDA) official Kieran Donoghue would be the new chief executive of Invest NI.​

The Department said that Mr Healy’s appointment has been made “in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland (CPANI).”