Masai Lawson

Thrown Into the Fire

Lawson's recruiting journey began immediately after college, when she joined a temporary staffing agency and was assigned onsite at what is now Hewlett-Packard to manage contingent workers. The role started with oversight of 75 temporary employees. Then the company secured a major regional contract, and almost overnight her remit grew to 350 workers spread across multiple locations.

"It was like being thrown into the fire," Lawson recalls. "It really required me to dig deep and figure out what I was made of." It also sparked a passion for recruiting that would shape everything that followed.

She later joined AppleOne, where she rose quickly through the ranks to become the youngest branch manager on the East Coast. There she discovered not only her talent for recruiting but her ability to lead and inspire teams. From AppleOne, Lawson continued building her expertise through leadership roles in technology recruiting, startup environments, executive search, and recruitment process outsourcing, eventually advancing to Vice President of Operations within an RPO organization.

A Cold Call That Changed Everything

One of the most defining moments of Lawson's career arrived during an economic downturn. She had been running her own consulting practice successfully for several years when recessionary pressures began to bite and clients started reducing spending. While exploring her options, she came across a recruiting manager opening at Gannett Fleming.

Rather than applying through the front door, Lawson cold-called the company's Chief Operating Officer and offered to help build the organization's recruiting function as a consultant. The response surprised her. Leadership explained that they were looking for a full-time hire and encouraged her to interview instead. What Lawson did not know was that an offer had already been prepared for another candidate. Weeks later, after an extensive interview process, that offer came to her.

Soon after she joined, the COO explained the reasoning behind the decision. "We liked your fire and your passion."

Lawson has remained with the organization ever since. When she arrived, Gannett Fleming employed roughly 1,800 people. Through growth and strategic expansion, including a major merger, the organization has since grown to nearly 5,500 employees.

Driving Growth Through Talent Acquisition

Growth is what energizes Lawson today. As the organization continues to expand, her focus sits on building scalable recruiting strategies, creating operational efficiencies, strengthening employer branding, and leveraging data to drive better decisions.

Modern talent acquisition, she believes, demands both relationship-building and analytical rigor. "You can't just do it anymore by feel and touch," she explains. "You have to pay attention to the data and use that data to take action." Success, in her view, comes from continuously evaluating what is working, identifying opportunities for improvement, and helping her team adapt as business needs shift.

Championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Alongside leading talent acquisition, Lawson has played a key role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within her organization. Her involvement began nearly a decade ago, when she reviewed a company annual report and noticed a lack of representation among the employees being highlighted. Rather than accepting the status quo, she took her concerns directly to leadership and challenged the organization to think differently about inclusion and visibility.

That conversation led to the creation of a DEI steering committee, which Lawson helped establish and lead. In the years since, the organization has launched five employee resource groups and earned recognition for its commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion within the engineering industry. For Lawson, expanding opportunities for underrepresented talent remains an important part of building stronger organizations and stronger communities.

Navigating AI and the STEM Pipeline

Like many talent leaders, Lawson sees artificial intelligence as one of the biggest forces shaping the future of recruiting. She embraces innovation and encourages experimentation with new technologies, but she is clear that organizations must weigh automation against human connection. "You have to figure out the balance," she says. She is equally emphatic that AI-powered tools be deployed responsibly and without unintended bias.

Beyond technology, she points to a growing challenge facing the engineering industry: a shortage of STEM talent. Addressing it, she believes, requires organizations to think further upstream, engaging students at younger ages and helping them understand the opportunities available through careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Advice for Talent Leaders Heading Into 2026

Looking ahead, Lawson encourages talent leaders to stay curious, embrace technology, and keep investing in the next generation of recruiters. Tools and processes will keep evolving, but the fundamentals of the work have not changed. "Don't lose sight of the basics," she advises.

Technology can streamline workflows and improve efficiency; meaningful relationships still drive successful hiring outcomes. "You can't develop a relationship with a text. You can't develop a relationship with an email," Lawson says. "You have to be able to engage people." For talent leaders navigating an increasingly automated world, her message is simple: embrace innovation, remain adaptable, and never underestimate the power of authentic human connection.