Leaders in Senior Management Executive Search Since 1954

Managing Directors and Practice Leadership

Greg Gabel, Managing Director and Practice Leader, joined Canny, Bowen in 1991, initially as Vice President & Director of Research.   He became a Managing Director in 1996.  Prior to Canny, Bowen, he was an Associate Consultant in the New York office of Heidrick & Struggles.  Greg is Practice Leader of the Development & Strategy Officers practice and co-Practice Leader of the Legal Officers practice.  His other functional expertise includes General Management, Finance, and Human Resources, as well as extensive experience recruiting members of the Board of Directors for public companies.  His search industry expertise includes Engineering and Construction, Technology, and Industrial Manufacturing.  Greg received a BA degree from the University of Maryland in 1986 and a  Master’s degree from Columbia University in 1989.

David Peasback, Chairman/CEO and co-Practice Leader of the Legal Officers Practice, joined Canny, Bowen in 1988 after 15 years with Heidrick & Struggles, the last four of which as President and CEO of the firm and Manager of the New York office.  He is listed as one of “21 of America’s Leading Headhunters” in Navigating Your Career, published by John Wiley & Sons.  David has led searches for the Chief Legal Officer for many of the country’s largest and most admired corporations including Pfizer, IBM, International Paper, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Bechtel. In 2007 he recruited the Vice President & Senior Counsel for Litigation and Legal Policy for the General Electric Company. His previous legal career includes Associate with Covington & Burling in Washington, DC, and Litigation Counsel for Litton Industries.  He began his career at Procter & Gamble and served in the US Marine Corps on active duty.  He holds a JD from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the Law Review and Order of the Coif, and a BA from Colgate University.

Catherine Swift, Managing Director, joined Canny, Bowen in January 2008. She spent the first ten years of her career in recruiting in New York City, initially as the first Recruitment Director for Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP) followed by six years as the Director of Legal Staff for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. In 1987 Catherine founded an executive and legal search firm in Portland, Maine which handled senior and executive-level searches for a broad client base in northern New England. She was also the Executive Recruiter for Cole Haan, a subsidiary of Nike.

Catherine has extensive experience directing and implementing executive search strategies for clients across a wide spectrum of positions and industries including law, consumer products, manufacturing, healthcare and biotechnology. She has handled General Counsel search engagements for both public and privately-held companies, C-level positions including CEO, COO, CFO and CIO as well as a wide range of General Management roles. Catherine graduated with honors from Boston University and attended the Harvard Program on Negotiation and the Institute for Civic Leadership. She also served on the Board of Youth Alternatives, Inc. in Portland, Maine.