Brian Swift

I was born in 1962 in the city of Chicago. After living in the city of Chicago for six years we move right outside the city to the suburbs. I attended parochial grammar and high school. Growing up sports and outdoor activities like hunting and fishing were a big part of my activities. The day after Christmas my senior year of high school I broke my neck playing football. I broke my neck at the C6 level making me a quadriplegic.

 

I graduated from St. Xavier College with a degree in criminal justice and a business minor. While in college I started coaching football and basketball at the grammar school I played at and attended. After college I went on to DePaul Law School.  I was the Regional Negotiating Winner, representing DePaul University, College of Law, in the National competition.

 

Physical therapy continued through all of my educational endeavors. Near the end of law school I started playing wheelchair sports.  I played wheelchair rugby for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and I swam for Marian joy Rehabilitation Institute.

 

I worked for a law firm for several years before getting a job in large sales company.

The first year I was awarded the rookie of the year for new sales and exceeding my objective.  After 4 years of exceeding objectives and being in the top 10% d sales professionals I was promoted into the training department.

 

I got married in 1989. I continued to play wheelchair sports, coach and work full time.  In 1994 we adopted our first son. We have three adopted children, one locally, one from China and one from Guatemala.

 

While in the training department I hired, trained, and developed a central telephone sales

 unit consisting of sixty Sales professionals and achieved a 16% net gain on a traditional

 “flat gain Market”.  I finished the number one telephone area in the company. I was asked

 to be a member of the Executive Development Program.

 

I was soon promoted to a district manager. I developed and lead 10 to15 account

executives responsible for 12 million dollars of annual revenue I won the

Distinguished Sales Performance Club (Top 10% of managers). The following year

I assumed the leadership role for one of the poorest performing telephone districts.

In one year the area achieved quota.  I was awarded the high performance award

for “Strategic Focus”. I assumed the leadership role for one of the poorest performing

premise sales areas in the company.  Within the year, the area finished the number one

premise team.

 

After 16 years of successful corporate sales, training and leadership I stepped

away from my division managers position. I have been blessed to be a part of several

extremely successful start up small businesses. I am always looking for opportunities

to challenge me.

I enjoy my ability to volunteer time to several non profit

organizations that are doing wonderful things for less fortunate people.

The organizations are My Angles with Paws, they train service dogs for the disabled.

The Christopher & Dana Reeves foundation.

I continue to coach and I have time to

invest into my family creating a better relationship with God. 

I finished writing my first

book and had it published.