Matt Massucci
Partner and Co-Founder

Matt co-founded Hirewell (formerly Human Capital Management Solutions) in 2001, because he and his partner Bret saw a need to approach recruiting in a relationship-focused, process- and results-oriented way. His 12 years of recruiting experience have been focused on building strong relationships based on transparency and respect. Matt has deep experience in IT recruiting, executive search, and designing and delivering RPO solutions for top organizations on a national level.

Prior to Hirewell, Matt began his career as a consultant with Arthur Andersen and later Deloitte Consulting. Matt graduated with a degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) in 1996. He has been on the Advisory Board of the University of Illinois Alumni Career Center since 2005.

Bret Brania
Partner and Co-Founder

Bret’s more than 12 years of experience includes specialties in executive search and recruiting. He works with clients to bring clarity to their goals and strives to be a business partner rather than just a service provider.

Prior to co-founding Hirewell with Matt Massucci, Bret was a senior recruiter at Aerotek and vice president of the Project Management Office at Martin Progressive. He graduated from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) in 1997.

Zach Nold
Managing Director – HR Recruiting

In his role with Hirewell, Zach develops relationships with Fortune 500 and 1000 clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, insurance, manufacturing and distribution.

Zach has placed positions at all levels within HR organizations, including executive staffing and technology-based functions. Zach joined Hirewell in 2011, and leads the HR Recruiting practice. Prior to joining Hirewell, he spent over ten years with a national search firm, where he consistently was the top billing recruiter.

He began his career at Hewitt Associates as a software analyst and a work group administrator. Zach is a 1995 graduate of the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).

Mike Ehlers
Vice President, Business Development

Mike brings over 20 years of recruiting experience and results to Hirewell. Since joining the firm in January 2010, he has been instrumental in expanding the company’s service offering and industry presence.

Mike’s professional highlights include:

• Leading the growth and performance of a recruiting start up that went on to become Inc. Magazine’s #6 in the U.S.
• Building the successful Chicago Operation/Midwest Team for Advantage Human Resourcing
• Receiving multiple performance awards
• Neopost Sales Manager of the Year in 1992 and 1995 and President’s Club honoree for seven years of his nine-year tenure
• Recipient of the Sales Leader Award at Lakeshore Staffing: 1998 - 2000

Mike has a passion for building strong client relationships. He specializes in recruiting and search for human resources, finance and accounting, executive administrative and information technology. He also has expertise in sales and marketing, professional coaching, career development and plan execution. Mike graduated from DePauw University.