Cielo Leadership

Sue Marks

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Sue Marks is the CEO of Cielo, the world’s leading pure-play provider of technology-enabled Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solutions. Sue’s visionary thinking, creative problem solving and ability to motivate and inspire people are the foundation of Cielo’s corporate culture and client relationships. She is widely recognized as one of the key founders of, and a pioneer in, the RPO industry. Since its inception, she has been an annual member of the HRO Today HR Outsourcing Superstar listing, and was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the service business category. She is the winner of the Marquette University College of Business Administration’s Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship and a three-time winner of both the Working Woman 500 designation and the Future 50 of Wisconsin. Sue earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration from Marquette University and is an annual participant in YPOWPO’s prestigious executive education program at Harvard Business School.

Marissa Geist

Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, Marissa Geist oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of Cielo, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer. Her previous roles at Cielo include Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Americas, where she was responsible for the leadership for all sales, delivery and operations in the Americas, which encompasses the North America and Latin America regions. She joined Cielo in 2015 as Senior Vice President of Global Operations, where she was instrumental in refining our global operating model and contributed to Cielo’s ability to predict, fulfill and exceed client needs. Prior to joining Cielo, she spent 11 years at ManpowerGroup in a number of senior roles, finishing as Vice President Client Programs. Marissa is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing. She currently resides in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her husband and four boys.

Seb O’Connell

President – EMEA & APAC

In his role as President of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, Seb O'Connell leads the organization’s creation and delivery of customized, innovative solutions to clients seeking transformational change. As a member of the Cielo Global Executive Team, he plays a key role in shaping the strategic direction of the organization as it expands its footprint in Europe and beyond. Seb brings to Cielo a strong background in business development as well as insightful solution design and operational delivery. Throughout his career, he has proven successful at growing organizations and people, and delivering world-class results for RPO clients across the globe. An acknowledged industry thought leader and EMEA Advisory Board Member to HRO Today Services & Technology Association, Seb is frequently quoted in the media and is a highly-regarded speaker at regional, national and international conferences and seminars.

Brian Lindstrom

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

As Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Brian oversees the global finance and administrative organization. He brings 25 years of experience in finance, accounting, treasury, risk management, and global operations. Prior to Cielo, Brian served in high-level roles at several healthcare software organizations, including Connecture and Epic, as well as time spent at other technology companies.

Greg Summers

President – North America

As President – North America, Greg Summers is responsible for leading the North American operations focused on creating and delivering value for our clients, employees and shareholders. With more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, innovator and leader in talent acquisition, Greg has proven experience and a deep understanding of how the global marketplace acquires and manages talent. In his over 10 years at Cielo, Greg has worked in several different areas of the business, demonstrating his enthusiastic and passionate leadership style in each role. Prior to joining Cielo, Greg held leadership roles within the RPO and TA industry, including founding multiple recruiting technology startups. Greg holds a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Molly Thiel

Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer

As Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Molly Thiel enables Cielo’s mission by ensuring we have the best talent positioned to provide excellent client service. She oversees talent acquisition, talent management, learning & development and HR operations for Cielo’s global operations. She joined Cielo in September 2018 and brought with her extensive experience in human resource and general business management. Prior to Cielo, Molly spent much of her career in the banking industry holding positions in operations, strategic planning, human resources and P&L management. Molly is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and lives in Franklin with her husband and two children.

John Coyle

Partner, Permira

John is Head of the New York office and serves on Permira's Executive Committee. He has worked on a number of transactions, including Arysta LifeScience, Atrium Innovations, BakerCorp, Cielo, DiversiTech and Renaissance Learning. Prior to joining Permira, John was the Global Head of the Financial Sponsor Group at JPMorgan Securities, where he worked for over 20 years. John has a degree in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Sue Marks

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Sue Marks is the CEO of Cielo, the world’s leading pure-play provider of technology-enabled Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solutions. Sue’s visionary thinking, creative problem solving and ability to motivate and inspire people are the foundation of Cielo’s corporate culture and client relationships. She is widely recognized as one of the key founders of, and a pioneer in, the RPO industry. Since its inception, she has been an annual member of the HRO Today HR Outsourcing Superstar listing, and was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the service business category. She is the winner of the Marquette University College of Business Administration’s Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship and a three-time winner of both the Working Woman 500 designation and the Future 50 of Wisconsin. Sue earned her Bachelor of Science in business administration from Marquette University and is an annual participant in YPOWPO’s prestigious executive education program at Harvard Business School.

John Mulflur

Principal, Permira

John is a Principal at Permira and focuses on investment opportunities in Industrials and Business Services. He has worked on a number of transactions, including Cielo and DiversiTech. Prior to joining Permira, John worked for Irving Place Capital, a midmarket private equity firm based in New York. Before that, he was with Thoma Cressey in Chicago and both GSO Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley in New York. John holds a degree in Economics and History from the University of Notre Dame and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Malaika Myers

CHRO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Malaika Myers is Chief Human Resources Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Before that, she led the global human resources function for Jarden Corporation and served as CHRO for Arysta LifeScience, where she led the HR function through a transition in operating model and worked to prepare the company for an IPO/acquisition. She also served in various senior human resources roles at global wine and spirits company Diageo PLC and spent 10 years with PepsiCo, where she held numerous positions before serving as Vice President of Human Resources for the PepsiCo Sales Organization. She started her HR career with FMC Corporation.

Dominik Pozny

Principal, Permira

Dominik covers investment opportunities across all sectors, with a particular focus on the Industrials sector. He has worked on a number of transactions, including CABB, Cielo and P&I. Prior to joining Permira, Dominik spent three years in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Frankfurt, covering mergers and acquisitions transactions across all sectors.

Alice Katwan

SVP & GM – North America, Twilio

Alice Katwan is a highly respected business and commercial leader with more than 20 years of experience building and leading growth teams at enterprise software companies. Currently, Alice Katwan is SVP & GM – North America at Twilio. Prior to joining Twilio, Katwan led the Enterprise North America sales team at Salesforce, supporting strategic partnerships with customers that carry a high market influence. Before that, she oversaw the North America sales team at Genesys, transforming its sales model and increasing diversity by emphasizing sales skills over tech expertise when hiring. She also led sales teams at Red Hat, BEA Systems and NetApp. Previously, Katwan was honored with the Silicon Valley Woman of Influence award. Katwan is passionate about promoting women’s leadership and regularly speaks about how women can succeed in traditionally male-dominated fields. Katwan received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from San Francisco State University. She served as an Advisor to Mesosphere and a Board Member at the Club of Silicon Valley. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.