At Rocket, curiosity often shows up as code, architecture diagrams or hard conversations about complex systems. Occasionally, it shows up at cruising altitude.

For Chief Revenue Officer Dan Swartz, aviation isn’t a hobby so much as a parallel operating system. A licensed private pilot with an instrument rating earned before most people can legally rent a car, Dan has spent decades immersed in the discipline of flight—planning, precision and decision-making under uncertainty.

He doesn’t talk about it much. But ask him what he does on a free weekend and you’ll hear about flight plans instead of brunch reservations.

“I’ve been flying with the Georgia Tech Flying Club since fall of ‘99 ,” Dan explained in a recent conversation. “Most recently a Cessna 182 w Garmin NXi for my remote/short field missions and the Cirrus SR22 G6 for longer trip. I’m always thinking through missions—where I’m going, weather windows, fuel and alternates. It’s constant problem-solving.”

One recent flight captures the essence of why flying matters to him. Dan and his family flew from Atlanta to Charleston for a long weekend—leaving at precise times, arriving without rushing and returning on schedule. Door to door, the trip took about three hours each way. Commercial flights would have taken longer and cost more.

But for Dan, the point wasn’t convenience or cost. It was control.

“When you fly, preparation is everything,” he said. “You don’t wing it. You plan. You follow checklists. You think through what could go wrong before it does.”

That mindset extends well beyond the cockpit.

As Dan sees it, piloting and leading client engagements aren’t all that different. Both require disciplined preparation, clear objectives and the humility to respect complexity. You don’t skip steps. You don’t assume systems will behave the way you hope. And you don’t take off without knowing how you’ll land.

“In flying, you’re constantly evaluating conditions, systems and adjusting,” he said. “That’s exactly how I approach client work at Rocket. You plan carefully, execute deliberately and keep improving every time you do it.”

Instrument flying, in particular, reinforces that discipline. When visibility disappears, process takes over. Checklists matter. Inputs matter. Experience matters.

That same philosophy underpins how Dan approaches Rocket’s work with clients navigating legacy systems, technical debt and ambitious transformation goals. The goal isn’t flash. It’s safe, repeatable progress—guided by experience and grounded execution.

“I love working at the intersection of business process and software,” Dan said. “Because just like flying, you’re constantly learning. Every mission teaches you something and the next one gets better because of it.”

Dan’s aviation passion may live mostly outside the office but its influence is unmistakable. Preparation. Precision. Continuous improvement. Respect for systems that don’t forgive shortcuts.

Whether at 8,000 feet or deep inside a complex client environment, the approach stays the same: know the terrain, trust the process and fly the plan.

And if the clouds roll in, that’s exactly when discipline matters most.