Cielo Leadership

Marissa Geist

Chief Executive Officer

Marissa is the Chief Executive Officer of Cielo, the world’s leading strategic provider of technology-enabled Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solutions. A proven leader, Marissa has helped shape Cielo’s culture and position the company as the industry leader. She is passionate about both people and business – seeing team members thrive as they develop their careers and for Cielo’s client-centric vision to achieve business success. Marissa leads Cielo’s global executive team comprised of leaders with deep expertise and diverse backgrounds. She joined Cielo in 2015 as Senior Vice President of Global Operations, where she was instrumental in refining Cielo’s global operating model and contributed to the company’s ability to predict, fulfill and exceed client expectations. Before 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. Marissa currently resides in Brookfield, Wisconsin, with her husband, four boys and two dogs.

Tara Cassady

Chief Strategy Officer

As Chief Strategy Officer, Tara oversees the business initiatives to drive both short- and long-term strategies to meet Cielo’s key objectives. She and her team activate the core elements of change management and interdepartmental collaboration on strategic initiatives, overseeing program management and mobilizing organizational resources. Since joining Cielo in 2008, Tara has played a critical role in the growth of the organization through her decisive leadership and measurable expertise in several areas, from revenue growth and forecasting to client and employee engagement. Prior to Cielo, Tara held senior roles at MRA – The Management Association and Hatch Services. She has a BA in Communication from St. Norbert College and an MA in Communication from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

Myke Hawkins

Chief Revenue Officer

As Chief Revenue Officer, Myke is responsible for the global go-to-market strategy and execution, including leading sales, marketing, revenue operations, and product development. Most recently, Hawkins was chief sales officer at Kelly Services, leading a $3.6 billion global customer portfolio. He also brings experience from senior roles with Xerox and Aon. With extensive subject matter expertise helping companies to imagine the future of work, Hawkins is guiding the development of new engagement models to expand ways of partnering with and delivering value for the world’s leading organizations.

Leslie Stroope

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Leslie is responsible for leading Cielo’s overall financial activities and global finance organization. She joined Cielo in 2023, bringing with her 20 years of experience in financial leadership and business strategy in the industrial staffing, financial services, and manufacturing sectors. In previous leadership roles at EmployBridge, Fidelity Investments, and GE, she established a track record of partnering with business leaders to achieve targets, develop policies, establish metrics, and collaborate on driving bottom-line productivity and growth initiatives. Leslie earned her Bachelor of Science with a dual focus in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management and also completed GE’s Financial Management Program. She lives with her husband and two children in the Greater Boston, MA area.

Greg Summers

Chief Customer Officer

As Chief Customer Officer, Greg is responsible for leading the global 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

Chief People Officer

As Chief People Officer, Molly 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.

Marissa Geist

Chief Executive Officer

Marissa is the Chief Executive Officer of Cielo, the world’s leading strategic provider of technology-enabled Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solutions. A proven leader, Marissa has helped shape Cielo’s culture and position the company as the industry leader. She is passionate about both people and business – seeing team members thrive as they develop their careers and for Cielo’s client-centric vision to achieve business success. Marissa leads Cielo’s global executive team comprised of leaders with deep expertise and diverse backgrounds. She joined Cielo in 2015 as Senior Vice President of Global Operations, where she was instrumental in refining Cielo’s global operating model and contributed to the company’s ability to predict, fulfill and exceed client expectations. Before 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. Marissa currently resides in Brookfield, Wisconsin, with her husband, four boys and two dogs.

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.

Sue Marks

Founder & Board Member

Sue Marks is the Founder & active Board Member at 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.