John Cozzi is a founding member of the Board of Directors at Propel America. John is Co-Head and Partner of AEA Small Business Private Equity. John co-founded the group in 2004, and focuses on investment opportunities in the consumer and business services and industrial products sectors.

Before joining AEA, John was a Managing Director at Arena Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and a Managing Director in the leveraged finance group of Credit Suisse First Boston. Prior to joining Credit Suisse First Boston, he worked at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. and NYNEX Corp.

John received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in economics and computer science from Union College with honors.

John is a Board Member and former Chairman of KIPP Team & Family, a charter school system in New Jersey and Florida, with over 8,000 children. Previously, he has served as Chairman and a Board Member of Everybody Wins!, a program which provides one-to-one literacy mentoring for inner city school children, and as a Board Member of Pride First, a program dedicated to serving disadvantaged children in the New York City school system.