Syd Kitson is Chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, a Florida-based real estate company specializing in the creation and development of master-planned communities and commercial properties.

Kitson is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Kitson had a notable career in the National Football League, playing offensive guard for both the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Upon his retirement from professional football in 1985, he began his career in real estate and founded Kitson & Partners in 1999. In 2006, Kitson completed the historic purchase of Babcock Ranch in Southwest Florida, encompassing more than 91,000 acres – an area five times the size of the island of Manhattan. Over 80% of the original land purchase, some 73,000 acres within Charlotte and Lee counties, has been preserved by the State of Florida and Lee County, in the largest single land preservation agreement in the state’s history. Syd lectures at Princeton University, and has served on multiple civic, education and non-profit boards. In addition to serving as Chair of the Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida, he is also Chair of the Florida Council of 100 and was elected the 2016-2017 Chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.