Jeff Swope is the Founder of Champion Partners and serves as its Managing Partner. Mr. Swope was also one of the Co-Founders of Centre Development and of Champion Private Equity. He began his career at Trammell Crow Company and became a partner at the firm. Mr. Swope is an Independent Director of publicly-traded Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. His professional accomplishments have included being the Founding Chairman of The Real Estate Council, and Founding Chairman of the Real Estate and Finance Center at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and serves as a Director of the Urban Land Institute Foundation. Mr. Swope was recognized as a Hall of Fame Member of both the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and the Dallas Board of Commercial Developers. He also serves on the University of Texas at Austin Business School Advisory Board and as a Trustee of the Business School Foundation at the University. Mr. Swope holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration from The University of Texas.