Deanna O’Connell
President & Founder
After meeting her, most people wouldn’t guess that Deanna O’Connell spent 4 years proudly serving her country in the United States Marine Corps. But it’s true, Ooh Rah! After the Marines, she made her way back to her hometown in northeast Ohio where she landed a job in technical support sales at the Sherwin Williams Corporate Headquarters learning all there is to know about paint & coatings applications. She held a technical support role in customer service supporting the likes of big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Menards.
In 2002, she was recruited by a large firm in Chicago to start a recruiting practice in paint and coatings so Deanna packed up and moved to the windy city. After only a few weeks in this role, a colleague asked for assistance filling a few jobs with a large food company and in just a year, Deanna built up a remarkable clientele with top food manufacturers across the country.
In April of 2008, she founded Red Kite Recruiting. Working solo at home didn’t last very long as she couldn’t keep up with the needs of her clients and soon hired her first employee. With the hire of her 2nd full time recruiter, the team moved into their first office space in Chicago.
In 2016, Deanna secured and built out a larger office space in Chicago and moved the ever-growing team into the bustling neighborhood of Wrigleyville. Go, Cubs, Go!!
In 2023, the company went fully remote when Deanna and her family moved to the suburbs of Denver. Red Kite now employs team members across 3 continents.
In her free time, you will find her hiking, mountain biking and skiing in the nearby Rocky Mountains. She loves adventuring with her husband, 2 sons, and dog Leo.
What she loves about recruiting: “After 23 years, this business still excites me like it did on Day 1. I love helping my clients solve both long and short-term problems by assisting them in building strong leadership teams. Strong leadership enables a solid foundation and helping to lay that foundation brick by brick is truly and we have a heck of a lot of fun doing it!”
Favorite Book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Favorite Quote: “You don’t always get what you wish for. You get what you work for.”