Sheila Lirio Marcelo

Sheila Lirio Marcelo
Name	Sheila Lirio Marcelo
Birth date	1970s
Birth place	Philippines
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Entrepreneur, investor, executive
Known for	Founder and former CEO of Care.com

Sheila Lirio Marcelo is a Filipino-American entrepreneur and investor best known for founding the online marketplace Care.com. She has led technology startups and philanthropic initiatives, served on corporate and nonprofit boards, and engaged in venture investing. Marcelo's career intersects with Silicon Valley firms, nonprofit organizations, and global development institutions, reflecting influence across technology, finance, and social impact sectors.

Early life and education

Born in the Philippines, Marcelo emigrated to the United States as a child and was raised in a family with ties to Manila. She attended Princeton University, where she studied public policy and graduated with a degree that placed her among alumni connected to networks including Harvard Kennedy School fellows and Brookings Institution affiliates. Marcelo later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, joining an alumni cohort alongside figures associated with McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. During her education she engaged with student groups linked to United Nations programs and development NGOs such as CARE (relief agency) and Oxfam.

Career

Marcelo began her professional career in roles spanning media, finance, and technology. Early positions connected her to employers and collaborators like Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, and consulting networks similar to Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group. She worked on projects intersecting with online marketplaces and consumer services, aligning with entrepreneurs from organizations such as eBay, Amazon (company), and Google. Marcelo's trajectory included stints that brought her into contact with startup accelerators and venture firms like Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner Perkins.

Founding and leadership of Care.com

In 2006 Marcelo founded Care.com, an online platform for finding and managing family care services, positioning the company amid contemporaries such as Angie's List, Zillow, LinkedIn, and Yelp. Under her leadership as CEO, Care.com raised capital from venture investors including funds similar to Benchmark (venture capital) and Accel Partners, and negotiated partnerships with employers, insurers, and benefit administrators like Aetna, Cigna, and ADP. Marcelo guided Care.com through product expansion, international launches into markets such as United Kingdom, Canada, and Spain, and regulatory interactions touching agencies analogous to the Federal Trade Commission and labor-focused entities like U.S. Department of Labor. In 2014 she led Care.com's initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, joining a cohort of consumer internet IPOs contemporaneous with Grubhub, Yelp, and Zillow Group. Marcelo later transitioned from CEO to an executive chair role and subsequently left executive management amid strategic shifts similar to those experienced by other tech founders confronting market competition from platforms like TaskRabbit and Thumbtack.

Other ventures and board memberships

Beyond Care.com, Marcelo has been active as an angel investor and advisor, participating in networks connected to Techstars, 500 Startups, and Y Combinator alumni. She has served on boards and councils alongside leaders from institutions such as Harvard Business School, Princeton University, and nonprofit organizations including National Domestic Workers Alliance, Ashoka, and United Way. Corporate board engagements have linked her to companies and governance forums like Icelandair, Expedia Group, and industry conferences such as Web Summit and SXSW. Marcelo's philanthropy and advisory roles have engaged multilateral institutions and foundations comparable to The Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and World Bank programs focusing on labor markets and caregiving.

Awards and recognition

Marcelo has received recognition from business and media organizations, earning accolades alongside lists produced by Forbes, Fortune (magazine), and Inc. (magazine). She has been invited to speak at forums including TEDConference, World Economic Forum, and university convocations at Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford University. Industry awards and honors reflect parallels with those given by Ernst & Young and chapters of entrepreneurial organizations such as Young Presidents' Organization.

Personal life

Marcelo has balanced entrepreneurship with family life, residing in the San Francisco Bay Area and participating in civic and cultural institutions including Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Filipino-American community groups. She maintains connections with alumni networks at Princeton University and Harvard Business School, and her career has intersected with public figures and leaders from sectors represented by Silicon Valley Leadership Group and regional philanthropy consortia.

Category:American business executives Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:Princeton University alumni