John is passionate about strategy, company culture and employee engagement. Along those lines, John leveraged the methodologies of the “Rockefeller Habits” to implement several strategic initiatives at Appletree (such as the Dream On program), which resulted in industry low turnover of about 18%, when compared to an industry average of 110%. John credits the implementation of these strategic initiatives with the tremendous growth in revenue and EBITDA over a roughly 4-year period, which ultimately led to the successful sale of the company.

In addition to his role with align5, John also currently serves as the CEO of GazellesPRO, the inner circle of Gazelles companies. John is also active in Virgin Unite, a charitable foundation created by Sir Richard Branson that is focused on improving the employee experience. In that capacity, John is involved with the foundation’s initiative on people and innovation.

John is a highly sought-after speaker to entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes on topics such as company culture, employee engagement, business strategy and acquisitions. John also brings expertise in designing and implementing business operating processes and systems to maximize the effectiveness of a company’s management team.

John has a BSBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Delaware. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with his wife Lynne and their three young children. In his free time, John flies his TBM 850 single-engine turbo prop plane.

Prior to her work at align5, Kristin served as the Director of Operations for Scaling Up Coaches, a global coaching organization with certified coaches working with midmarket companies. She also has experience working on corporate learning teams for entrepreneurial companies.

Kristin has a BS in Business Management and Marketing from Cornell University. She resides in Lancaster, PA with her husband and two sons.

During her tenure, Appletree Answers experienced exceptional growth and a revamped company culture that led to a significant decrease in employee turnover. Appletree Answer’s signature Dream On Program was also launched during this time which made significant impacts on the culture and employee loyalty and dedication.

The organization won the Why We Love Our Workplace Award from the Great Place to Work Institute and was named as a Best Place to Work in Delaware twice.