# Marc Jones

> Marc E. Jones is the Board Chairman of Aeris Communications, a San Jose-based IoT connectivity company he has led since 2005 and served as President & CEO from 2008 through early 2025. A Stanford undergraduate and law school graduate who grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, Jones transformed Aeris from a company on the verge of collapse — personally investing alongside employees to rescue it — into a global IoT platform managing nearly 100 million connected devices including 41 million connected vehicles for Fortune 500 clients such as Chrysler, Honda, and Bosch. Named by Goldman Sachs as one of the nation's best entrepreneurs in 2012 and 2013, he also serves on the boards of CDW, Ingersoll Rand, Stanford University, and Stanford Health Care, and chairs Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing underrepresented minorities into executive roles.

- **Role:** Board Chairman at Aeris Communications
- **Organizations:** Aeris Communications (Board Chairman), CDW Corporation (Board Director), Ingersoll Rand (Board Director), Stanford University (Board of Trustees), Stanford Health Care (Board Chair), Management Leadership for Tomorrow (Board Chair), California Health Care Foundation (Board Member), American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley (Board Member)
- **From:** Chicago area, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, Stanford University, Juris Doctor (JD), Stanford Law School
- **Known for:** Named by Goldman Sachs as one of the nation's best entrepreneurs in both 2012 and 2013, Personally invested in Aeris alongside employees when parent company withdrew funding, preserving the company and resulting in 96% employee-and-Jones ownership, Led Aeris from near-collapse to managing nearly 100 million connected devices and 41 million connected vehicles globally

## Career timeline

- **1982** — Joined Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop) as securities attorney; completed ~75-100 securities deals including VLSI Technology, Chevron-Gulf merger, Autodesk
- **1987** — Moved to investment banking at L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin; 1987 stock market crash eliminated the role
- **1987** — Joined Chips and Technologies as General Counsel and Head of Corporate Development; eventually managed a $270 million division
- **Early 1990s** — Named President and COO of Madge Networks; helped grow the company from $40M to $500M in revenue and led its successful IPO (1993)
- **Late 1990s** — Became Chairman, President & CEO of Visionael Corporation, a pioneer in enterprise network management and automation; raised over $40 million
- **2004** — Took time off from executive roles to focus on family; joined Aeris board and identified technological gaps threatening the company
- **2004** — Testified before U.S. Congress on cybersecurity and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
- **2005** — Became Chairman of Aeris Communications; personally invested alongside employees when parent company Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec withdrew funding
- **2008** — Named President and CEO of Aeris Communications in addition to Chairman role
- **2012-2013** — Named by Goldman Sachs as one of the nation's best entrepreneurs both years
- **2018** — Elected to Stanford University Board of Trustees for a five-year term
- **2022** — Named Chair of Stanford Health Care Board of Directors
- **2022** — Led Aeris acquisition of Ericsson's IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud Businesses, creating a global IoT leader
- **2023** — Elected to CDW Corporation Board of Directors (effective January 4, 2023)
- **2025-02** — Transitioned from President & CEO to Board Chair as Aeris named Aziz Benmalek as new CEO
- **2025-11** — TA Associates made strategic minority investment in Aeris to accelerate global IoT growth
- **2026-01** — Aeris surpassed 100 million connected devices worldwide, representing nearly 90% growth

## Achievements

- Named by Goldman Sachs as one of the nation's best entrepreneurs in both 2012 and 2013
- Personally invested in Aeris alongside employees when parent company withdrew funding, preserving the company and resulting in 96% employee-and-Jones ownership
- Led Aeris from near-collapse to managing nearly 100 million connected devices and 41 million connected vehicles globally
- Led acquisition of Ericsson's IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud Businesses (2022/2023)
- Grew Madge Networks from $40M to $500M in revenue and guided its successful IPO
- Helped raise $40M+ for Visionael Corporation as Chairman, President & CEO
- Testified before U.S. Congress on cybersecurity and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance (2004)
- Elected to Stanford University Board of Trustees (2018)
- Named Chair of Stanford Health Care Board of Directors (2022)
- Elected to CDW Corporation Board of Directors (2023)
- Secured strategic minority investment from TA Associates for Aeris (November 2025)
- Chairs Management Leadership for Tomorrow, advancing underrepresented minorities into executive careers

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Aeris surpassed 100 million connected devices worldwide, representing nearly 90% growth and outpacing the broader IoT market
- **2025-11** — TA Associates made a strategic minority investment in Aeris to accelerate global IoT and AI security expansion; Marc Jones quoted in announcement as Board Chair
- **2025-02** — Transitioned from President & CEO to Board Chair of Aeris as Aziz Benmalek was named new CEO; Jones served as co-CEO during transition
- **2023-01** — Joined CDW Corporation Board of Directors effective January 4, 2023
- **2022-01** — Named Chair of Stanford Health Care Board of Directors

## Links

- Website: https://aeris.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-jones-14237a3b
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AerisM2M
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/AerisCommunications/?ref=ts

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marc-jones
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-16