John Pavia

Managing Partner
Siena Lane Partners

John Pavia is the Managing Partner of Siena Lane Partners, a specialty advisory firm that specializes in assisting foreign companies with entering the US market. Siena Lane serves as the primary US advisor to Italy’s sovereign fund, CDP Ventures. John is also a partner in Cesena F.C., a professional soccer team based in Cesena, Italy that currently plays in Serie B. He sits on several boards including Starbucks (S. Africa), Nuovo Pasta, and Connecticut Innovations (“CI”), which is one of the top state-sponsored venture funds in the U.S. John has served as the Chairman of CI’s Investment Committee for the last 5 years. John started his career as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City. He then joined a prominent Connecticut law firm and began representing PE and VC-backed businesses. In 2000, John resigned his partnership at the firm, and agreed to take on a full-time role inside a distressed Warburg Pincus portfolio company. That opportunity was the first of several successful turn-arounds that John has helped to orchestrate over the last 26 years. John has been associated with Quinnipiac Law School for over 30 years, where he still teaches a course on Constitutional Law. He also teaches a course on Economics at the University of Connecticut. John frequently provides commentary on various news outlets, and previously served as a legal analyst on both Fox News and CNN during the Clinton Impeachment Trial. John is married to Robin Pavia, Chief Criminal Judge for the State of Connecticut, and they have four children.