Serial entrepreneur Sue Marks, the founder and chief executive officer of recruitment leader Cielo, will receive the 16th annual Ken Hendricks “Seize the Day” award June 4 at the 2019 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference.
The conference is returning to Milwaukee at a new location: Venue 42 at Milwaukee Brewing Co. near the Fiserv Forum. Registration is open now and “early bird” rates still apply; click here.
Headquartered in Brookfield, Cielo is the world’s leading strategic recruitment process outsourcing partner. In January 2019, the company reported serving 177 clients from 95 countries and 39 languages, employing about 2,000 people worldwide. The company began with Marks’ founding of Pinstripe in 2005. She previously founded two other startups in the human resources field, ProStaff and HRFirst, which were sold in 2000.
In late 2018, London-based Permira acquired a majority equity stake in Cielo from Accel-KKR to continue the company’s growth.
“Sue Marks is an outstanding entrepreneur who will speak directly to what it’s like to launch, grow and succeed with companies in a competitive environment,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
The award, which celebrates entrepreneurial leaders who have been crucial to Wisconsin’s economic growth, is named in honor of the late Ken Hendricks, a Beloit businessman and 2006 “Seize the Day” award winner who died in an accident in late 2007.
The Tech Council produces the June 4-5 Entrepreneurs’ Conference and administers the award, which has gone to entrepreneurs who have shown persistence in building their companies.
Past winners include Don Weber of Logistics Health Inc. (2004); Bob Cervenka of Phillips Plastics (2005); Ken Hendricks of ABC Supply (2006); Jan Eddy of Wingra Technologies (2007); Michael Cudahy of Marquette Medical Systems (2008); Toni Sikes of The Guild and Guild.com (2009); Bill Linton of Promega (2010); Bob Hillis of Direct Supply (2011); Kay Koplovitz of USA Network (2012); Fred Foster of Electronic Theatre Controls (2013); Craig and Lea Culver of Culver Franchising System Inc. (2014); Jim Berbee of Berbee Information Networks Corp. (2015); Mark Gehring of HealthMyne (2016); Zach Halmstad of Jamf (2017) and Dude and Kerry Frank of Comply365 (2018).
“Connecting the I-Q Corridors” is the theme of the conference, where ‘treps from around the state will showcase their innovations, services and technologies. A dozen panel tracks formed under three unique stages of “launch,” “grow” and “succeed” will appeal to entrepreneurs in all stages. Detailed panel information can soon be found at witrepsconference.com.
The Entrepreneurs’ Conference is one of the largest events for entrepreneurs and early stage investors in the Upper Midwest. More than 500 people are expected for the two-day conference at 1128 N. 9th. St., Milwaukee. There are hotel rooms blocks to choose from, and significant ramp parking available, listed on the website along with directions. Other highlights will include:
- Day One keynote speaker Jeff Rusinow, a veteran super-angel investor who founded Silicon Pastures in 2000
- Day Two keynote speaker John Zeratsky, a tech designer and author of “Design Sprint”
- Live-stream of the two keynote speakers available for purchase, also accessible after the conference by attendees.
- Diligent Dozen of #GovsBizPlan: Top 12 finalists from the Governor’s Business Plan Contest will square off on June 4 with the awards ceremony on June 5
- Innovation Showcase featuring exhibits from more than 40 Wisconsin companies
- A presentation by the winner of the Wisconsin YES! youth business plan contest, and;
- Plenty of chances to network with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors over food and refreshments including a June 4 reception.
Sponsors so far are: Aberdean, Accelity Marketing, Affiliated Engineers, Alliant Energy, American Family Insurance, American Transmission Co., AT&T, Baird Capital, Baker Tilly, BDO, Ben Brewer Photography, Biz Times Milwaukee, BMO Harris Bank, Boardman & Clark, C.D. Smith Construction, Carroll University, Center for Technology Commercialization, CGI, City of Fitchburg, Dedicated Computing, DeWitt, Findorff, First Business Bank, Foxconn, Godfrey & Kahn, Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, Hendricks Holding Comp., Husch Blackwell, Madison College, Madison Gas & Electric, Makin’ HEY!, Marquette University, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Microsoft, Midwest Prototyping, Murphy Desmond, N29 Capital Partners, Neider & Boucher, Northwestern Mutual, Old National Bank, OneNeck IT Solutions, Perkins Coie, Quarles & Brady, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Rockwell Automation, ScaleFactor, Susan Healy, Technology Innovation Center – Milwaukee, Telsa, Uber, University Research Park, UWM Research Foundation, UW-Madison D2P, UW-Madison Office of Business Engagement, UW-Madison University Relations, Venture Investors, Versiti, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, WEA Trust, Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., WHEFA, Whitewater University Technology Park, WIPFLi and Wisconsin Technical College System.
For more information, visit witrepsconference.com or call 608-442-7557.
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