Jeff Saviano is the EY Global Tax Innovation Leader. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts Jeff is a Partner
(Principal) with EY and a member of EY’s global innovation leadership team. Jeff leads teams in the
discovery, design, and commercialization of new solutions, with an emphasis on deployment of new
advanced technology platforms grounded in artificial intelligence and blockchain. He creates a startup
culture to drive innovation through test and learn patterns and accelerated innovation.
In 2018, Jeff launched the EY Advanced Technology Tax Lab network in collaboration with MIT and
Professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland. The Tax Lab is dedicated to solving complex tax issues for both the
government and the private sector through the application of emerging technologies and business model
innovation. Jeff is also a Fellow in the MIT Connection Science Lab.
Jeff is the host of the Better Innovation podcast, featuring interviews with technology and innovation
thought leaders. The podcast explores stories of how innovation is reshaping and transforming our
inextricably digital world.
Prior to assuming his innovation leadership role, Jeff was a long-time leader of EY’s Americas Indirect Tax
Practice, where he helped companies manage their indirect taxes globally. In that role, Jeff advised
government and private sector clients on tax policy matters. He has more than twenty-seven years of tax,
innovation, and advanced technology experience.
Jeff delivered a TEDx Talk in Brookline, Massachusetts in the fall of 2016 based on the idea that imposing a
carbon tax could help mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. He has been a frequent speaker on
tax policy and innovation / advanced technology matters across the globe, including a presentation on this
topic in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum in January, 2019.
Jeff received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Iona College, a J.D. from Syracuse University College
of Law and an LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. He has published articles on tax
policy and practice, innovation, and advanced technologies.
Jeff is on the editorial advisory board for Innovation Leader, content deliverer and developer of the largest
network of corporate innovators in the world; and StreetCred, a non-profit organization providing free tax
preparation in hospitals and clinics targeting families eligible for antipoverty government programs. He
has taught tax and innovation courses at Suffolk University and Elon University School of Law. Jeff has
recently joined the faculty at the Boston University School of Law and will teach an innovation course
there in 2020.