Scott Dowell

Chief Executive Officer SureWerx

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Scott Dowell has been Chief Executive Officer of SureWerx since 27 May 2025. SureWerx makes personal protective equipment, safety products and tools, and has headquarters in both Vancouver and Chicago. Its brands include Jackson Safety, Sellstrom, PeakWorks and JET, and it is owned by Partners Group. Dowell came from the distribution side of the industry: his previous role was running Wesco’s U.S. Industrial Division, so he knows the distributors SureWerx sells through. He took over from Chris Baby, who had been CEO for fifteen years and remained at the company to lead acquisitions.

Career Highlights

• Appointed Chief Executive Officer of SureWerx effective 27 May 2025, leading the company’s global operations.
• Previously Senior Vice President and General Manager of the U.S. Industrial Division of Wesco for four years. SureWerx says the division achieved organic growth well above the market in that time.
• More than 25 years in industrial distribution, with leadership roles in sales, operations, supply chain and global accounts.
• In June 2026 he hired Shawn Gregg, a former Wesco and 3M executive, as Chief Operating Officer reporting to him.

Professional Journey

Dowell spent his career in industrial distribution, the channel that stands between manufacturers and the plants, contractors and utilities that use their products. SureWerx describes him as having held leadership roles in sales, operations, supply chain and global accounts over more than 25 years. It also says he has helped scale businesses from small companies up to large multinationals. His last role before SureWerx was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the U.S. Industrial Division of Wesco, a large electrical and industrial distributor. He held that role for four years.

In May 2025 SureWerx appointed him Chief Executive Officer, effective 27 May. He succeeded Chris Baby, who had joined in 2009 and been CEO for fifteen years. Over that time Baby completed seventeen acquisitions, grew the business tenfold, expanded it outside Canada and turned a tools and equipment company into a global PPE and safety group. Baby did not leave the company. He took a newly created role as Executive Director, Mergers & Acquisitions. The company presented the change as positioning it for “continued organic growth and increased M&A activity”, and Partners Group called M&A “a key pillar of our value creation strategy”. When the appointment was announced, Dowell said that “the global safety market is exploding”. He said SureWerx could combine its brands with its distributor partners to achieve significant organic growth. Derek Lim, a SureWerx board member and Managing Director of Partners Group, cited Dowell’s commercial background and record of above-market growth.

SureWerx sells safety products under brands including Jackson Safety, Sellstrom, Pioneer, PeakWorks, Due North, Oberon, FALL SAFE and Reliance Fall Protection. Its tool brands include JET, Strongarm and American Forge & Foundry. All of them reach customers through distributors serving industrial, construction, electrical, utilities, transportation and automotive aftermarket markets. In June 2026 Dowell appointed Shawn Gregg as Chief Operating Officer, effective 15 June. Gregg was previously Vice President and General Manager of Global Safety at Wesco, and before that held senior roles at 3M. He reports directly to Dowell and is responsible for commercial execution and brand performance across the portfolio. Dowell said Gregg would strengthen “how we execute across our brands, support our distributor partners, and convert our opportunities into consistent performance”.

Education

No education record was found in the sources consulted.