Our mission is to help organizations build and maintain great leadership teams to create value for the organization's stakeholders over the long term. All of our work on compensation benchmarking, plan design, and related governance issues is structured to fulfill this mission. Our advice is thoughtful, tailored to the organization, frequently innovative, and always straight-forward, open, and candid.
Biography
David Swinford, President and Chief Executive Officer, joined Pearl Meyer in 1998. In his consulting role, Dave works closely with companies to link compensation with business and leadership development strategies in order to build and maintain strong executive teams that create value over the long term. He provides a candid and seasoned perspective on performance standards, balancing retention with pay-for-performance alignment, and compensation-related corporate governance issues. For more than 40 years, Dave has worked with boards and management teams in all major industries.
As CEO of the firm, Dave leads a highly talented team focused on long term growth and sustainability through superior customer service, meeting expanding market needs, and developing great talent at all levels of the organization.
Dave previously served as senior managing director and head of Pearl Meyer’s New York office. Prior to joining the firm, he was a managing director and worldwide partner of William M. Mercer, Incorporated, where he was a national practice leader for executive compensation. Dave also served as a vice president at Towers Perrin, with worldwide responsibility for the executive compensation consulting practice, and in positions at Sibson & Company and Harris Corporation. He holds BS, MS, and JD degrees from the University of Wisconsin.
Dave works closely with the National Association of Corporate Directors and other organizations on director education and intellectual capital issues. He writes and speaks regularly on issues related to executive compensation and board governance. Dave serves on the board of PM&P Holdings LLC, as well as for the Humane Society of Greater Rochester, one of the country’s most respected animal welfare organizations.
