Smith, who served two years as president of SLAQ, a division of HeylCorp Inc., will assist builders and developers in the purchase or lease of state land. He brings his extensive experience in the field of land acquisitions to the firm. As president of SLAQ, Ross helped homebuilders, developers and users evaluate state trust land for acquisition and development.

Prior to heading up SLAQ, Ross worked as vice president of HeylCorp Inc. where he was responsible for land acquisition, design and development. He also directed urban land planning, commercial leasing, land exchanges, appraisal, rights-of-ways and the selection of federal lands as Urban and Commercial Director for the Arizona State Land Department.

In addition, Smith, who managed the planning of several master-planned communities and subdivisions for Roadrunner Homes and UDC Homes, also served as the long-range planning manager for the City of Scottsdale where he was responsible for the general plan, capital improvement program and the coordination of the intergovernmental planning.