Ubaldo (UB) Ciminieri
Ubaldo “The Space Ace” Ciminieri is the Chief of Staff at CisLunar Industries, a space technology company developing hardware for in-space metal processing and power conversion. With over 20 years of experience spanning talent strategy, diversity and inclusion, entrepreneurship, and space industry communications, he has established himself as a dynamic leader bridging the gap between technology, human capital, and space exploration.
As Chief of Staff at CisLunar Industries since January 2023, Ubaldo brings his expertise in talent strategy and communications to a growing space company that is building Modular Space Foundries® to process materials like metal in space, enabling humans to work, live, build, survive, and thrive in space, on the Moon, and beyond.
The company is also pioneering power conversion technologies for in-space operations. In May 2024, CisLunar Industries achieved a major milestone by successfully completing its first mission to space, with its 20kV power supply powering ThinkOrbital’s electron-beam welding system in orbit. Read CisLunar Industries Earns Space Heritage.
The company has secured multiple contracts, including a $1.7 million project from the U.S. Space Force focused on operationalizing the recycling of metal in space to create metallic fuel for propulsion. Ubaldo helps grow a diverse team of engineers and non-technical professionals from various walks of life to bring new perspectives and ideas to the space industry, and works with other space companies, agencies, and enthusiasts to communicate the innovation happening in the space sector and its positive impact on Earth.
In July 2024, Ubaldo cofounded The Traveling Space Panel, an innovative collective of visionaries united by their passion for space exploration and its potential to transform humanity. This dynamic group brings together artists, entertainers, cultural influencers, technologists, and scientists, all driven by the shared dream of interstellar travel.
They aim to spark imagination, collaboration, and bridge the gap between seemingly disparate fields to accelerate progress towards becoming a spacefaring civilization. The initiative draws inspiration from Star Trek’s vision of the future and organizes thought-provoking discussions that explore the intersections of art, entertainment, culture, technology, and science in the context of space exploration.
Ubaldo is a Cofounder and Strategic Advisor at TalentBloom Healthcare, launched in 2020 as a healthcare-focused brand of interviewIA. With a proven track record of reducing turnover by 25% within the first year and increasing time savings by 60% throughout the hiring process, TalentBloom Healthcare aims to revolutionize how hospitals and health systems hire, recognizing that quality of hire directly impacts quality of care.
The platform provides data enrichment tools that bring visibility and clarity for talent acquisition in the healthcare ecosystem, using structured interview technology to support interviewers in delivering unbiased evaluations of candidates. Between 2020 and 2024, Ubaldo served as Talent Acquisition Manager at TalentBloom Healthcare, where he performed full-lifecycle recruitment and conducted entire interview processes for roles ranging from CEO and CIO to sales, customer service, software development, and attorney positions for Fortune 100 to startup companies.
Since 2021, Ubaldo has been the Founding Member of The Outlier Project, a global membership community for people who believe that “anyone can be ordinary, but we all have the power to choose to be extraordinary.” The community supports members around the world to live their versions of an extraordinary life through interactive events such as the Legend Series Author Spotlight, Lounge Series, Power Hours, and weekly TOP Talks with Founder Scott MacGregor. The community is committed to giving back through TOP Care and believes in a “people over everything” mindset.
From 2019 to 2024, Ubaldo served as CEO, Cofounder, and Facilitator at Breaking the Bias. Their curriculum was based on neuroscience, teaching the fundamentals of bias and empathy to help teams and organizations grow together in their journey to achieve more diversity and inclusion.
Between 2019 and 2024, Ubaldo served as President of the Board of Directors at the Blind Institute of Technology, a nonprofit organization that prepares the blind and visually impaired, as well as their employers, for success in the workplace. The organization has secured placements for individuals with disabilities within major national employers and conducted accessible technology projects for organizations across the country.
From October 2019 to October 2021, Ubaldo created and cohosted Choose Inclusion, an Honorary Webby Award Winner podcast that explored how diversity, equity, and inclusion can impact businesses. The podcast featured cohosts from unique and often underrepresented backgrounds — Mike Hess, Nina Baliga, and UB Ciminieri — who openly discussed their own biases and engaged in authentic conversations with guests about everything related to DEI.
The podcast was ranked #2 on Diversity And Inclusion: 10 Podcasts Indian Bosses Should Be Listening To and #3 on Feedspot’s Top 15 Diversity and Inclusion Podcasts for 2020. In 2022, The Choose Inclusion Podcast: #BlackVoicesMatter was named a Webby Honoree in Podcasts – Diversity & Inclusion by The Webby Awards, earning the distinction granted to only the top 20% of all work entered in the 26th Annual Webby Awards. Listen to Choose Inclusion Podcast on Spotify.
Since 2018, Ubaldo has served as Podcast Host at Deep Space Predictive Research Group, advising a space industry startup focused on solving for the human element in space. The company is developing technology to bring the right teams of astronauts together and support them in surviving and thriving on deep space missions to Mars and beyond. He leads all marketing strategies to create content, including visual assets and the creation and co-hosting of The Human Everywhere Podcast.
Between 2016 and 2020, Ubaldo held multiple roles at Jobber Group (now interviewIA), including Chief Strategic Connections Officer, Executive Talent Consultant and Recruiter, and EVP of Talent and Creative Strategy. The company helped organizations identify patterns of character traits within top-performing employees and operationalize plans to leverage psychographics and data to effectively build teams.
Between June 2021 and June 2022, Ubaldo served as a Member and Contributing Writer at Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for senior-level tech executives. As a member, he published bylined articles and shared expertise on Forbes.com, providing insights on talent acquisition, bias mitigation, and the impact of technology on hiring. Read How to Shift to a Business-to-Professional Market Strategy.
Ubaldo earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1998 from Creighton University, where he was an active member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
In 2022, Ubaldo received recognition when interviewIA was named one of the Top 15 out of 100 semifinalist startups at the 9th Annual Startup of the Year® Summit in Tampa, Florida, by Established/Startup of the Year®. Additionally, interviewIA was named the Blazer winner in the Catalyst category at the Inno on Fire Awards, presented by the Denver Business Journal and Colorado Inno, which recognizes organizations moving the industry or ecosystem forward. In 2021, Ubaldo was honored with the International Trade Council Go Global Awards.
As a passionate advocate for workplace diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice, Ubaldo openly discusses his experiences surviving workplace violence, his Latino background, and how these experiences have shaped his perspective on building better workplace cultures. He discusses the positive and negative impacts of technology on humans, focusing on the ethics of AI, and advocates for people’s safety and happiness at work.
He has been featured as a speaker at conferences, including the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE) 2024 Leadership Summit and ASCEND 2024 alongside Star Trek: Voyager actor Garrett Wang and other space industry leaders.
Ubaldo resides in Denver, Colorado, and maintains an active presence in the space, technology, and talent acquisition communities.
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