Based in New York, David Cowan leads Spencer Stuart’s Global Energy Practice, covering energy transition technologies and infrastructure, renewable energy, power & utilities, upstream, midstream and downstream oil & gas and oilfield services. He is a core member of the firm’s Carbon Task Force that supports clients to meet their ESG objectives through developing people agendas to support decarbonization. David also serves within the Private Equity, Board & CEO and Infrastructure practices.

David focuses on supporting investors to leverage leadership and talent to improve portfolio company performance across the investment lifecycle and advising large companies on the succession of the CEO, C-Suite and Board. He works with both traditional energy/infrastructure companies as they transition to today’s market and the companies developing innovative technology to drive change in these sectors.

Deep energy and infrastructure expertise

  • David was formerly based in the Dubai office of the Firm where he led the energy & infrastructure practices in the MENA region.
  • Before joining Spencer Stuart, David was a Partner in the energy and infrastructure practices of another global executive search firm. He has a long-held interest in renewable energy and has spent a considerable amount of his time on sustainable energy and infrastructure projects for over fifteen years.
  • David is a recipient of the Firm’s Lou Rieger Quality Award for client service.

David holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in genetics from the University of Leeds in England.

Practice Areas