David Swain

FOUNDER

H. David Swain, a developer of commercial income producing properties in North and South Carolina, formed his development company, Swain & Associates, thirty-two years ago. Since that time, Mr. Swain has been active in the development of multi-faceted, income producing properties including shopping centers, office buildings, warehouses, free standing financial institutions and national restaurant chains.

During the early phase of his career, Mr. Swain developed and constructed in excess of 45 apartment complexes. He currently owns 27 of these properties, which consist of approximately 1,800 units.

Since 1979, a division of the company has specialized in the development of retail shopping centers and has developed, constructed or re-developed approximately 62 properties – in excess of 3,000,0000 square feet. Mr. Swain’s company, Swain Management, LLC, continues the management and leasing of all shopping centers within the portfolio.

In addition to his commercial development company, Mr. Swain founded and operated a chain of 14 video rental stores from 1989 – 2002. In 2002, the chain was acquired by Movie Gallery, then the nation’s third largest video retailer.

Mr. Swain is actively involved in the non-profit arena, serving on multiple boards. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as member of the Board of Directors of the Cameron Business School, Board of Directors of Centura Bank, Executive Advisory Board for the UNCW Board of Visitors and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Visitors. Mr. Swain was one of six area leaders chosen to direct the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s efforts to select its current Chancellor. In 2011 he successfully led the committee tasked with hiring the University’s new Athletic Director.

Mr. Swain has served on the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the Board of Trustees of New Hanover Regional Medial Center – eastern North Carolina’s largest hospital. He has been a member of the International Council of Shopping Center Developers for over 30 years and has been an active member of the North Carolina Apartment Builders, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and the Committee of 100.

Mr. Swain and his wife have given freely of their time and resources to numerous philanthropic causes including the March of Dimes and the Pink Ribbon Project. They are also benefactors of the Cape Fear Museum.

The son of a schoolteacher, Mr. Swain strongly supports initiatives that facilitate equal and affordable access to higher education. To that end, he and his wife have funded 17 college scholarships for children of New Hanover County civil servants. Additionally, in 2009 Mr. and Mrs. Swain donated $1 million to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to found the Swain Center for Business and Economic Services.

Jason Swain

DEVELOPMENT & LEASING

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002, Jason joined the Swain & Associates team to learn the family business.

Today Jason is involved in all new projects the company undertakes and oversees all elements of the development process including property acquisition, project leasing and financing.

Jason and his wife, Katie live in Wilmington with their daughter Cate.  Jason is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, a member of the board of the Swain Center for Business and Economic Development and is a member at Saint Andrews Covenant Presbyterian Church where he serves on numerous boards.

Sam Lathan

DIRECTOR OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

A graduate of North Carolina State University, Sam held executive positions at both Martin Marrieta and Service Roofing before arriving at Swain & Associates.  In just one year at Service Roofing Sam was able to take their flagging Wilmington, North Carolina division and turn it into one of the most profitable divisions in the county.

Today Sam works closely with a large team of vendors, owners, tenants and municipalities across the country to ensure portfolio properties run at optimal efficiency.

Sam and his wife Jennings live in Wilmington and have three children.  He is actively involved in Saint Andrews Covenant Presbyterian Church where he leads the Fellowship Committee, the largest committee by budget.  Sam is an outdoorsman at heart and most often you can find him hunting, fishing or exploring in the outdoors.

Mary Casper

PORTFOLIO/PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Mary was born and raised in Wake Forest, NC and holds a Business Degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Before joining Swain & Associates in 2016, she spent over 15 years in the banking industry working in all areas of finance with a heavy emphasis on commercial lending. Her considerable experience and financial background made for a seamless transition into commercial real estate.

Mary is intricately involved in all aspects of the development process, meticulously managing the company’s pipeline, coordinating all legal documents, lease negotiations, and due diligence. She oversees the organization of the company and focuses on the optimization of portfolio properties. Mary works closely with the team on financial modeling and debt placement in the capital markets, as well as portfolio risk management.

Mary lives in Wilmington with her husband, Billy, and their two children, Wilks and June. Most weekends you can find her on the sidelines, cheering her children’s soccer teams to victory!

Katie Swain

ACCOUNTING

Katie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in economics in 2002 and earned her Master of Accounting from UNC Wilmington in 2010. In the intervening years, she worked at CCB and SunTrust as a commercial loan officer.

After 10 years as a full-time homemaker, Katie began working on special projects at Swain & Associates in 2020, taking over accounting for 15 portfolio companies in 2021.

Born and raised in Wilmington, Katie was a three-sport athlete at Emsley A. Laney High School and is the only person to be inducted into the school’s hall of fame for soccer, basketball and volleyball. She played on the varsity soccer team at UNC, winning a national championship and two ACC tournament titles. She and Michael Jordan share the distinction of being the only two graduates of Laney High School to have won national championships.

Katie and her husband Jason have two children: Cate (10) and Will (2). In what little spare time she has, Katie volunteers at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School, Saint Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church, and satisfies her passion for athletics on the tennis court.