Cielo names new CEO to replace founder Sue Marks

Sue Marks, the founder and chief executive officer of Brookfield-based Cielo, will step down as CEO, and turn the role over to Marissa Geist, the company’s chief operating officer. Marks will continue to serve on the board for Cielo, a provider of recruitment process outsourcing solutions. Geist will also join the company’s board of directors. The CEO transition will be effective on May 31. Geist joined Cielo in 2014. Prior to becoming the company’s COO, she served as executive vice president and managing director of the Americas, where she was responsible for the leadership for all sales, delivery and operations in North America and Latin America. She first joined Cielo as senior vice president of solution design and implementation. Prior to joining Cielo, she spent 11 years at ManpowerGroup in a number of senior roles. “A core tenet of our business is that talent is the main differentiator in any company – and that includes our own,” Marks said. “Since I began working with Marissa many years ago, she quickly demonstrated her impressive leadership skills, talent and passion for Cielo’s client-centric mission. I’m extremely proud to be passing the reins over to a remarkable leader from within our company and can’t wait to see what Marissa is able to accomplish with the rest of our outstanding executive team. It has been a privilege to lead Cielo from its inception and I look forward to continuing to actively support the business on the board.” Marks founded Cielo, originally known as Pinstripe, in 2005. Today the company has more than 3,600 employees in 108 countries. Prior to starting Cielo, Marks was CEO of ProStaff/HRfirst. “Sue is known both within Cielo and broadly in our industry as an inspiring entrepreneur and innovative leader, and learning from her has been a great privilege,” said Geist. “Her visionary thinking, creative problem solving and ability to motivate people are unmatched, and laid the foundation of Cielo’s corporate culture and client relationships. I am thrilled to take on this role at such an exciting time in Cielo’s growth trajectory and to continue working alongside Sue, the entire board and my fantastic colleagues across the world to help our clients find and retain the best talent.” “Since founding Cielo over 15 years ago, Sue has built the company into a leading human capital management partner...and Marissa has contributed tremendously to that success in recent years,” said John Coyle, a partner at Permira, the majority investor in Cielo, and a member of Cielo’s board of directors. “Cielo has never been stronger and better positioned for the future thanks to its global reach and local focus across many industries, strong financial position, deep leadership team and passion across the whole company. The board is confident that Marissa is the right person to lead the company forward into what promises to be a bright and exciting future.”