CLEO Communications

In 1976, CLEO Communications started as a division of Phone 1 Inc., a hardware manufacturer. The company initially built equipment to help computers interface with IBM mainframes. As technology evolved with the rise of the PC and the internet in the 1990s, CLEO shifted its focus to software, specializing in secure data transfer. A significant turning point came in April 2012 when the company, then with fewer than 50 employees, was acquired by new management backed by Globe Equity Partners. This event marked a new era for CLEO, with Mahesh Rajasekharan appointed as President and CEO. Under this new leadership, the company expanded its offerings, culminating in what is now known as the Cleo Integration Cloud, a platform that manages various data integration needs for businesses. To further bolster its capabilities, CLEO acquired EXTOL International in 2016, a company specializing in data transformation. This acquisition allowed CLEO to combine technologies and create a more comprehensive integration platform for its growing customer base. In 2021, the company received a major growth investment from H.I.G. Capital, validating its strategy and accelerating its market leadership in the ecosystem integration software category.