Founder, President and CEO Shawn Bannon

Throughout his career, Shawn has worked with CEOs of global financial, manufacturing, energy, IT, life sciences and consumer goods companies including Allegheny Technologies, American Eagle Outfitters, Bayer, BNY Mellon, Gateway Financial Group, K&L Gates, Kennametal, MARC USA, MEDRAD, PNC Financial Services, Reed Smith, TRACO, United States Steel and Westinghouse.  He’s also worked with leaders and faculty at prestigious research universities including Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as community champions, philanthropists, and elected leaders at virtually every level of government.

In addition to founding Bannon Leadership Consulting and Bannon Communications, Shawn has held positions of leadership in both the private and public sectors.  From 2012 until 2020, he served as Senior Vice President and Director of Executive, Employee and HR Communications for The PNC Financial Services Group, where he served as chief speechwriter and managed the company’s thought leadership practice while leading an internally focused team of employee journalists and HR communications specialists to inform and engage the company’s 53,000 employees on issues ranging from strategic business priorities and performance to corporate social responsibility, talent, benefits, diversity and inclusion.

Previously, he managed communications for the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership, the regional host committee for the 2009 Pittsburgh G-20 Summit of global heads of state, and served as a consultant to the governments of Canada and South Korea regarding subsequent G-20 summits, as well as the government of South Africa regarding the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

From 2006-2009, Shawn served as Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its affiliates – the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and the Pennsylvania Economy League. Working to support the goals of these organizations to stimulate economic development and improve the quality of life in southwestern Pennsylvania, Shawn developed the Conference’s public relations strategy; served as spokesman; managed leadership and advocacy communications; and oversaw publication of membership, trade, community and investor communications.  Shawn also served for more than three years as a producer of “Our Region’s Business,” a weekly regional business affairs television show that airs on NBC Affiliate stations reaching parts of Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

During Shawn’s time with the Conference, the region and the Conference enjoyed unprecedented national and international media coverage by outlets including Time Magazine, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, FOX News, CNBC, the Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, The Economist, the Financial Times, Expansion Management, Site Selection magazine, ESPN SportsCenter and even The Hockey News.  Shawn’s work with partners throughout the community during the region’s 250th anniversary year in 2008 earned Pittsburgh more than 1 billion media impressions worldwide and has been credited with helping to propel the Pittsburgh region to record levels of business investment, talent recruitment and tourism activity in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Prior to joining the Allegheny Conference, Shawn served as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications with Mellon Financial Corporation (now BNY Mellon), where he created the company’s thought leadership communications practice, served as both spokesman and chief speechwriter, and edited dozens of publications for employees, investors, clients and community partners.

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Shawn speaks and has been widely published across North America on issues including business and civic leadership, visioning, strategic planning, community and economic development, regionalism and global competitiveness, public relations, issues management and strategic communications.  He has delivered keynote addresses at events including the Northwest Chamber Leaders Conference, and his writing has appeared inside the pages of publications including Chamber Executive Magazine, the Birmingham News and the Calgary Sun, as well as among industry publications and Web sites including Vital Speeches of the Day, the Speechwriters Newsletter, PR Daily, Ragan.com and the Washington Speechwriters Roundtable.