John Aiello

As Co-Founder of SAVO, John spent most of the past 13 years pioneering, defining, and evangelizing the Sales Enablement software category. Under John's leadership as CEO, SAVO became the unquestioned leader in Sales Enablement, growing at a rate of 40% + per year, each year of its existence. Having turned the reigns of SAVO’s leadership into the hands of its new CEO, Mark O’Connell, in late 2010, John is still quite active on SAVO’s Board of Directors. In this new capacity, John leverages his experience and deep domain knowledge to help shape the strategic direction for the organization. He also remains a chief evangelist for promoting the importance and business value of Sales Enablement.

A classically-educated and trained marketer, John has spent his entire career at the crossroads of marketing and sales, developing and implementing innovative ways for these two critical disciplines to drive better results by collaborating more effectively and efficiently. In his prior role as CEO of SAVO, John managed all key aspects of the company including Sales, Marketing, Finance, Technology, and Operations. John’s vision, leadership, and commitment to customer results helped to drive the explosive growth of the market and the company. Today, SAVO has more than 200 employees is continuing to grow at a rapid pace.

Prior to SAVO, John served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Sundance Homes, a publicly-traded homebuilder. He also served as Brand Manager for the Miller Brewing Company and Director of Marketing for a Chicago-area private high school.

John holds a BA from the University of Illinois, where he graduated in the top 1% of his class in 1990. He also holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, where he graduated in 1995. John has been a frequent speaker for the American Marketing Association, University of Illinois, Kellogg School of Management, University of Chicago's Booth School of Management, University of Notre Dame Business School and many other institutions on topics related to sales/marketing effectiveness and entrepreneurship. In 2009, John was inducted into the Chicago Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. John is currently serving on the Boards of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Chicago Entrepreneur Center, SAVO, and two other rapidly-growing Chicago-based software startups.

Since choosing to step down as SAVO's CEO, John has volunteered his time in the non-profit sector. John and his wife of 18 years, Carla, live in Arlington Heights with their two beautiful sons.