Leadership

Michael Stomberg is the founder and CEO of Planet Technology’s parent company, The Planet Group, which includes several renowned staffing companies and global consulting organizations. Since founding Planet in 2009, Michael has led the organization to record organic growth while also leading the company through the launch of four new business lines and the acquisition of multiple firms. He also led the M&A activities when in May 2021, The Planet Group merged with ProPharma Group, the leading global provider of outsourced regulatory, clinical research, compliance, pharmacovigilance, and medical information services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Michael assumed the role of ProPharma Group’s CEO in September 2021.

Michael has over 20 years of experience developing and leading global organizations focused on the Life Sciences, Technology and Energy industries. His expertise includes organizational development, leadership development, streamlining operations, technology integration, team development, and global business strategy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management.

Tim Simmerly is the President of Planet Technology’s parent company, The Planet Group, and oversees global strategy as well as the day-to-day operations for our global staffing and consulting companies.

With more than twenty years of experience in talent and human capital services, Tim has helped launch three of Planet’s companies and continues to lead PFES today. Tim’s leadership ability, business development acumen, and operational excellence are key to his role in expanding The Planet Group into new market segments worldwide. Tim joined the Planet Group of Companies in 2009 and has held numerous leadership positions including Director of Business Development, Vice President, and Executive Vice President.

Jon Whiley is the CTO of The Planet Group of companies and is responsible for leading the firm’s innovative technology strategy, including network infrastructure, system integrations, process improvements, new technology implementations, and IT support.

Jon has over 20 years of progressive tech and operations experience delivering transformative solutions that drive immediate business impact and continuous improvements across enterprises. During his career, he has designed competitive tools and adopted technology to optimize workflows and strengthen service delivery across multisite operations.

Prior to joining The Planet Group, Jon was Executive Vice President and CTO of Majestic Steel USA. A veteran of the US Marine Corps and graduate of Ohio University, he serves as a Governing Body Member of Evanta’s Midwest CIO group and is also involved with the Northeast Ohio chapter of SIM.

Jeff Dillenburg brings over 20 years of experience in operations within the human capital consulting and staffing world to his role as Chief Operating Officer of The Planet Group and has a strong track record of success everywhere he has been. He was one of the first employees at both Inforte and Slalom Consulting and played an integral role in executing their high growth strategy as Managing Director.

Along with his Planet COO responsibilities, Jeff concurrently serves in the same capacity with Strive Consulting which The Planet Group acquired in December of 2021. Jeff has been with Strive since 2015 and has been instrumental in helping drive the strategy to restructure the organization from a staffing firm to a consulting firm.

Jeff brings a tremendous track record of success and hard work and is a thought leader that has used many innovative approaches to help construct some of the best delivery platforms in the business.

Philip Monti is the CFO of The Planet Group and is responsible for driving the firm’s profitability as well as providing financial discipline and capital direction. With over two decades of senior financial leadership and a deep understanding of the global consulting and staffing industries, Phil excels at overseeing complex financial systems that serve enterprise-level organizations with thousands of employees.

He is a valued business partner with a strong record of balancing the interests of executive leadership and the board while also being a financial voice for the organization; navigating debt and equity capital transactions; and negotiating, closing and communicating M&A transactions in private equity and public company environments.

Prior to joining The Planet Group, Phil was Chief Financial Officer of DISYS where he helped guide the firm as a global staffing leader. Previously, he served in a variety of similar executive-level corporate finance roles with Signature Consultants and Acosta Sales & Marketing. A certified public accountant, Phil received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and his Master’s in Accounting from the University of North Florida.

A champion of the now and next, Chief Strategy Officer Russ Whitman leads the go-to-market strategy for Planet and its global consulting and staffing divisions. He has over 25 years of experience in digital product development, business and marketing and has successfully grown several AI, SaaS and cloud-based technology companies from startups to multi-million-dollar entities.

Christine Belmonte has spent the past 15+ years partnering with some of the world’s most recognized brands on their data, technology, ecommerce and talent needs. As Executive Vice President at Planet Technology, Christine creates strategic hiring solutions and project management plans for global clients in the Enterprise Systems space. She also leads a high-performing sales team to ensure service excellence and exceptional results.

Prior to joining Planet, Christine was VP of Client Development for Syndigo, a global SaaS platform in the eCommerce industry where she built an enterprise organization from the ground up. Previously, she was the Managing Client Director of Gartner’s Healthcare and Global Enterprise practices and served in several sales management roles with CareerBuilder, leading teams and overseeing national enterprise accounts.

Christine has a Bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University.

Formerly one of three Partners of R121 (Planet121), the first company acquired by The Planet Group, Andrew John now serves as Executive Vice President of Planet Technology. In this position, Andrew is responsible for the continued expansion of the Enterprise Systems Group in North America and Europe, which covers SAP, Workday, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and ServiceNow.

Andrew has worked in ERP staffing and consulting since 1998, covering industry verticals such as manufacturing, insurance, energy and utilities, life sciences, and professional services.

In-depth knowledge of emerging technologies and a commitment to creating strong cultures are critical to Nate O’Keeffe’s role as Executive Vice President of Planet Technology where he oversees business development and strategic partnerships for the firm’s Core Technology division as well as leads a team of 30 sales professionals.

Nate has 20+ years of relationship building, solution selling and business strategy experience and has been part of the staffing industry ecosystem for more than a decade. Prior to joining the firm, he was the President for the North American operations of a leading life sciences human capital firm. Nate has also held senior leadership, director and account management positions with a nationally-recognized staffing and consulting firm where he was responsible for the oversight and direction of all personnel training and development, production, revenue performance and operational aspects for the company’s ERP, Healthcare IT and cybersecurity business lines.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University in Westfield, MA.

As EVP with Planet Technology’s Core Tech division, Melissa Masse oversees a national sales team servicing the East Coast, Western US, and Southeast regions. Additionally, she leads Planet Tech’s Cybersecurity team that provides security talent on a national scale.

Melissa joined Planet Technology’s predecessor, WinterWyman, in 2004 and held various roles in sales, recruiting, and leadership. With over 20 years of operations, training and sales / business development experience, Melissa is focused on providing top technology talent within Software Development, Information Technology, and Cybersecurity to organizations across the country.

Originally from New York, Melissa holds a Bachelor’s degree from The State University of New York College at Geneseo with a degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication.

Formerly COO of Interactive Business Systems, one of the legacy companies forming Planet Technology, Jeff Jorgensen now serves as Executive Vice President overseeing the Mid-West. Jeff has played a pivotal role in developing many of Planet Technology’s key practice areas, including Microsoft 365 implementation and automated testing solutions. He joined IBS in 2001 as the Cincinnati Branch manager and was crucial in distinguishing the firm within the IT consulting space. Jeff doubled majored in Accounting & Finance at Kent State University in Northeast Ohio.

Chris Mitchell, Senior Vice President of Recruitment is responsible for the overall candidate delivery of Planet Technology, including contract (MSP & Direct Access) and full-time placement in a variety of technologies (Core IT, Enterprise Systems, and Creative & Digital). With in-depth knowledge across a wide variety of tech stacks, Chris has built high-performing international delivery teams, supporting some of the better-known tech companies in the world. Prior to joining the firm, Chris held Senior Recruiter positions with several national recruitment agencies.