As a senior vice president at Universal Studio Group, Michael is the studio executive responsible for the production of numerous shows at Universal Television over the past 10 years; including Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Master of None, Good Girls, Never Have I Ever and Community.
Over the past 20 years, Michael has produced movies and documentaries to critical and audience acclaim including All About You, All About Us, For the Love of Ruth, To Hell and Back, Andraé Crouch: Making The Journey, Two Seasons and The Wayman Tisdale Story. He is also involved with the Tony Award winning Broadway smash musical, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, and its upcoming national tour.
After a stint in Princeton Theological Seminary’s Master of Divinity program, Michael joined NBCUniversal’s national prime time and network news sales team in New York City and co-managed advertising accounts reaching up to $30 million each. He was also a part of the NBC “Must See TV” sales team that became the first in broadcast network TV history to book over $2.2 billion in advertising revenue during an upfront selling period.
Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Film, Television and Theatre from the University of Notre Dame before ultimately launching his career in the entertainment industry. He serves as a board member for Notre Dame’s Performing Arts Advisory Council, the Success Through Education Program (STEP) benefiting students living in South Los Angeles and is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
A South Side of Chicago native, Mr. Swanson resides in Los Angeles with his wife of 26 years, film and TV director Christine Swanson, and their four children.