Masai Lawson

Masai Lawson

Director, Talent Acquisition, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Chair - GFT

For Masai Lawson, a career in talent acquisition began unexpectedly but quickly evolved into a lifelong passion. Today, as a talent acquisition leader at Gannett Fleming, she oversees recruiting strategy during a period of significant organizational growth while championing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the company.

With decades of experience spanning agency recruiting, executive search, recruitment process outsourcing, and corporate talent acquisition, Lawson has built a career defined by adaptability, resilience, and a people-first approach to leadership.

Discovering a Passion for Recruiting

Lawson’s recruiting journey began immediately after college when she joined a temporary staffing agency. Shortly after starting, she was assigned onsite at what is now Hewlett-Packard to manage contingent workers.

What started as overseeing 75 temporary employees quickly grew into managing 350 workers across multiple locations after the company secured a major regional contract.

“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.”

The experience sparked a passion for recruiting that would shape the rest of her career.

She later joined AppleOne, where she quickly rose through the ranks and became the youngest branch manager on the East Coast. There, she discovered not only her talent for recruiting but also 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 came during an economic downturn.

After successfully running her own consulting practice for several years, she began seeing clients reduce spending as recessionary pressures mounted. While exploring opportunities, she came across a recruiting manager opening at Gannett Fleming.

Rather than applying traditionally, 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.

The company explained they were seeking a full-time hire and encouraged her to interview instead.

What Lawson didn’t know was that leadership had already prepared an offer for another candidate.

Weeks later, after completing an extensive interview process, she received the offer.

Soon after joining, the COO shared the reason behind the decision.

“We liked your fire and your passion.”

Lawson has remained with the organization ever since.

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

Driving Growth Through Talent Acquisition

Today, Lawson is energized by the opportunities that come with growth.

As her organization continues to expand, she focuses on building scalable recruiting strategies, creating operational efficiencies, strengthening employer branding, and leveraging data to drive better decisions.

She believes modern talent acquisition requires balancing relationship-building with 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.”

For Lawson, success comes from continuously evaluating what is working, identifying opportunities for improvement, and helping her team adapt to changing business needs.

Championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In addition to leading talent acquisition, Lawson has played a key role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within her organization.

Her involvement began nearly a decade ago after reviewing a company annual report and noticing a lack of representation among the employees being highlighted.

Rather than accepting the status quo, she brought 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.

Since then, 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 Future of Recruiting

Like many talent leaders, Lawson sees artificial intelligence as one of the biggest forces shaping the future of recruiting.

While she embraces innovation and encourages experimentation with new technologies, she believes organizations must carefully balance automation with human connection.

“You have to figure out the balance,” she says.

Lawson also emphasizes the importance of ensuring AI-powered tools are deployed responsibly and without unintended bias.

Beyond technology, she points to a growing challenge facing the engineering industry: a shortage of STEM talent.

Addressing that challenge, she believes, requires organizations to think further upstream by 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

As talent leaders prepare for the future, Lawson encourages them to stay curious, embrace technology, and continue investing in the next generation of recruiters.

While tools and processes may evolve, she believes the fundamentals of recruiting remain unchanged.

“Don’t lose sight of the basics,” she advises.

Technology can streamline workflows and improve efficiency, but 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, Lawson’s message is simple: embrace innovation, remain adaptable, and never underestimate the power of authentic human connection.