
share this page
About
El-Saden was appointed CEO of Ignite USA in 2001 and brought vision to a start-up company that needed professional leadership and a new direction. Shortly after beginning this role, El-Saden won a design and manufacturing order from Starbucks, winning it against Starbucks’ existing supplier base. Despite limited staff and modest company resources at the time, El-Saden and a few key employees dug deep, and successfully grew Ignite’s revenue over the subsequent three years by 2,879%, or a compounded annual rate of 210%. In 2006, Ignite shifted its focus from private label manufacturing and invested significant capital to launch a new national brand in the drinkware category called Contigo®. Bolstering the transition towards the company-branded product line, Ignite developed a patented AUTOSEAL® lid technology which automatically seals between sips for 100 percent leak and spill-proof protection. These innovative AUTOSEAL travel mugs and water bottles have set a new standard in the beverageware industry and have won a number of prestigious media recognitions. Ignite debuted Contigo in 2006 at Target stores nationwide. Today, Contigo is a top brand at Target, Costco, QVC, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com, and is now expanding around the globe. Under El-Saden’s direction, Ignite USA has reported revenue and profit growth in each year of its existence, even during the transition period when the company began engineering and marketing its own brand. Ignite’s revenue grew 71 percent and 103 percent in 2008 and 2009 respectively, with 2009 being the company’s most profitable year to date with industry-leading margins, despite the global downturn. “I am extremely honored to receive this recognition,” said El-Saden. “I attribute my successes to passion and dedication, as well as to Ignite’s unique business model and outstanding team. We have a motivated and talented staff that embraces our core values – excellence, courage, creativity, loyalty, respect, openness and honesty. I could not have achieved any of this without our talented and committed team.”Company Spotlight in Tech

Aginity
videos (1)
Doug Grimsted

NodeSource
videos (1)
Joe McCann

Foxtrot
videos (1)
Michael LaVitola

FactSet
videos (1)
Mike Giordano

Ora Interactive
videos (1)
Mike Kelly

Keono
videos (1)
Michael Medema

MotherG
videos (3)
Dave Davenport

NestEgg
videos (1)

Steadfast.net
videos (1)
James Webb

GuardianVets
videos (1)
John Dillon

Techweek
videos (2)
Amanda Signorelli

Shiftgig
videos (3)
Eddie Lou

AVANT
videos (2)
Drew Lydecker

Goby
videos (1)
Helee Lev

Nexus A.I.
videos (1)
Phil Alexander

The Ballast Group
videos (2)
Kellee Johnson

Belmont Trading Company
videos (1)
Igor Boguslavsky

Narrative Science
videos (1)
Stuart Frankel

Innoplexus
videos (1)
Gunjan Bhardwaj

Intetics, Inc.
videos (2)

Reverb
videos (1)
David Kalt

uBack
videos (1)
Kaitlin Reimann

SiNode Systems
videos (1)
Samir Mayekar

Impact Engine
videos (1)
Jessica Droste Yagan

EagleRail Container Logistics
videos (1)
Mike Wychocki

Newark element14
videos (1)
Tamara Jurgenson

NOW Foods
videos (1)
Jim Emme

alligatortek
videos (2)
Sid Bala

LotLinx
videos (1)
Denise Chudy

Avail
videos (2)
Ryan Coon

Elevate
videos (1)
Larry Bak

Rubicon Technology
videos (1)
Bill Weissman

King Devick Technologies, Inc.
videos (1)
Danielle Leong

SpringCM
videos (1)
Dan Dal Degan

Chicago Interactive Marketing Association (CIMA)
videos (1)
Eric Whobrey

Emerging Technologies, Inc.
videos (1)
Inna Berkovich

BCDVideo
videos (3)
Jeff Burgess

ExerciseBuddy
videos (1)
David Geslak

WiredScore
videos (1)

Sixième Son
videos (2)
Colleen Fahey

SimpleRelevance, Inc.
videos (2)
Erik Severinghaus

BlueGrace Logistics
videos (1)
Alisha Greenwald

Business Technology Partners
videos (1)
Todd Perlman

Framework IT
videos (2)
John Fakhoury

Lawson Products
videos (2)
Michael DeCata

Chicago Health Executives Forum
videos (1)
Georgia Casciato

Current Media
videos (1)
Dan Novaes

Multiple, Inc.
videos (1)
Dave Mason