Leadership

Michael Stomberg is the founder and CEO of The Planet Group, Rokster’s parent company, 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 The Planet Group and oversees global strategy as well as the day-to-day operations for our global staffing and consulting companies, including Rokster. 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 them today: Planet Forward, PFES, and Rokster.

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.

Joe Carlone is the Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Rokster. He leads Rokster’s growth in the Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, and Blockchain space.

Joe comes to Rokster with 20 years of industry experience. He previously worked at CareerBuilder, focusing on Business Intelligence and SaaS strategies for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to midsized businesses throughout the U.S. Most recently, Joe worked at Gartner, where he focused on improving supply chain leaders’ business performance through actionable research and advice.

Dominick Birolin, CSSP, CISA, NSE3 is the Vice President of Cybersecurity Services at Rokster. Dominick uses his extensive information technology, audit, and compliance experience to provide cost-effective, comprehensive solutions that minimize customer risk to online threats in ICS and OT environments, avoid regulatory fines, and maintain operational efficiency. Prior to joining Rokster, Dominick served as Senior Cybersecurity Analyst for Archer Security Group where he led NERC CIP compliance and served as the Subject Matter Expert on ICS Environments and Regulatory Compliance. He’s also held senior Cybersecurity roles with Wurldtech, a GE Company, and North American Energy Alliance LLC (Essential Power, LLC) as well as technology SME roles with AT&T Managed Internet Service. A veteran of the US Army, Dominick holds multiple certifications and is an expert in Cyber Vulnerability Assessments, Evaluation and Remediation as well as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) setup and policy/alert generation.

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.

Marni Helfand is the Chief HR Officer and General Counsel for The Planet Group. Marni oversees all legal and HR functions including providing training, advising on all areas of compliance, negotiating client agreements, managing litigation, and protecting the company’s intellectual property. After leaving private practice with the law firm of Littler Mendelson, most of her career has been spent in the staffing and consulting industries. Prior to beginning her career, Marni received her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations form Cornell University, and attained her JD Law Degree from Northwestern University’s School of Law.

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.

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.