A 25-year veteran of commercial real estate, Swanson's areas of expertise include real estate entitlements, land sales, and planning and development of infrastructure, office and industrial projects. In his current position with Flagler, he manages all assets and development for the company's South Florida portfolio, which encompasses more than five million square feet of office and industrial plus more than 1,000 acres of entitled land for potential development. He is also responsible for the Flagler's third-party service businesses, including brokerage, property management and development.

"I'm proud to take on a leadership role with an organization whose purpose and mission is at the very heart of the core values we work toward everyday at Flagler," Swanson stated in a release. "I look forward to building upon the contributions of our past leaders to generate new commercial real estate activity in South Florida and continue ULI's legacy as a catalyst for responsible use of land, sustainable design, advancement of workforce housing and enhanced infrastructure and transportation."

Swanson has three primary goals for his term as ULI regional chair: continue to enhance workforce housing, infrastructure and transportation, and sustainable design in the Southeast and Caribbean; promote and enhance the relevance of ULI within the South Florida region by working with land planning and government agencies; and activate and involve ULI South Florida's 1,000 members.

The Southeast Florida and Caribbean District Council is one of the largest and most active of ULI's more than 60 district councils located in North America, Europe and Asia. The councils provide an effective information exchange for members in various markets to share ideas and best practices related to how land use can solve pressing urban problems.

Swanson is a longstanding ULI member and has served on the executive committee of the Southeast/Caribbean District Council since 2000. He is also on the board of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and an advisor to Nova Southeast University's graduate real estate program.