About Us » History » Meet the CareerBuilder Leadership Team

Matt Ferguson Chief Executive Officer

Matt Ferguson is the CEO of CareerBuilder, the global leader in human capital solutions. Ferguson took CareerBuilder to the No. 1 position in the online recruitment industry within five years. Under his direction, CareerBuilder continues to outpace competitors in traffic, revenue and technology innovation, and is quickly expanding its global footprint with a presence in 55 countries worldwide.

Focused on empowering employees and creating a culture of exceptional customer service, Ferguson has transformed CareerBuilder into a world-class organization that has revolutionized recruitment and job search. He set into motion an evolution that has taken CareerBuilder beyond being the largest job board in the nation to a company that offers a wide range of data intelligence and consulting services, targeted advertising and outplacement support. His ongoing commitment to delivering the greatest ROI to clients has driven dynamic growth that sets the bar for the industry.

Working with the nation's top employers on a daily basis, Ferguson is often called upon to provide insights on emerging trends, the impact of the economy on the job outlook, and advice for job seekers. He has appeared on CNBC Squawk Box, ABC World News, CBS Evening News, Bloomberg TV, the TODAY Show, FOX Your World with Neil Cavuto, Nightly Business Report and CNN Money, among others. He was named to Crain's Chicago Business "40 Under 40" and ranked in the top ten list of Glassdoor.com's "Highest Rated CEOs."

Ferguson first joined the company following CareerBuilder's acquisition of Headhunter.net, where he had been serving as senior vice president of business development. Prior to that, Ferguson developed strategic partnerships for DigitalWork.com. He also started two entrepreneurial ventures, and practiced law at Baker & McKenzie. Ferguson holds a master's in business administration from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Northwestern University.

Brent Rasmussen President, North America

Brent Rasmussen heads the day-to-day operations of the North American division of CareerBuilder, the global leader in human capital solutions. An accomplished strategist and industry veteran, Rasmussen drives the innovation, expansion and ongoing revenue growth of CareerBuilder.com, the U.S.'s largest online job site, and CareerBuilder Canada.

Rasmussen has served in key roles at CareerBuilder for a decade, helping the company to secure and widen its category lead. In his previous positions as COO and Senior Vice President of Sales, he was charged with leading all sales and customer operations and corporate marketing functions of the company. Under his direction, CareerBuilder developed a suite of cutting-edge products, diversified its sales channels and broadened its distribution network, which had a direct effect on CareerBuilder becoming the industry leader in five short years.

Pulling from his years of extensive research and experience, Rasmussen is an employment expert who regularly interviews with national TV and radio, and speaks at various industry forums, to discuss hiring trends and workplace developments. He has appeared on Nightly Business Report, FOX Business Countdown to the Closing Bell, CNN American Morning, BusinessWeek Weekend and National Public Radio among others.

In addition to his professional commitments, Rasmussen is dedicated to promoting community involvement. He serves as President of CB Cares, an internal group that supports CareerBuilder's not-for-profit work including educational mentoring and fund-raising for areas in need.

Prior to joining CareerBuilder, Rasmussen served as Manager of Business Services for Xerox Corporation, where he worked for nine years. He holds an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Kevin Knapp Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Knapp is responsible for ensuring CareerBuilder's financial and operational strategies deliver sustainable and profitable growth. Knapp oversees the company's global financial management operations, including reporting, corporate controllership, strategic planning, taxes and treasury, as well as the company's global information technology and facilities functions.

Prior to joining CareerBuilder, Knapp was part of the original leadership team that launched cars.com, the leading automotive marketplace website. At cars.com he served as Vice President of Strategy and Operations where he led the company's operations and business development efforts, including building new business opportunities and securing strategic acquisitions and alliances. Knapp began his career with KPMG the global audit, tax and advisory firm, serving in various roles including senior manager in its mergers and acquisitions practice.

Knapp holds a master's in business adminstration from the University of Chicago and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Eric Presley Chief Technology Officer

As CTO of CareerBuilder, Eric Presley is responsible for overseeing the strategic technology initiatives and critical execution of the technology infrastructure.

Presley's efforts have led CareerBuilder to be a pioneer in applying Lean Software Development principles to the organization. This structure has allowed CareerBuilder to focus on delivering impactful business results to its customers.

Presley's accomplishments also include developing a global platform for CareerBuilder that serves 16 markets in 14 different languages. A global development team dedicated to expanding CareerBuilder's international presence releases production code from four of these markets on a daily basis.

Before joining the CareerBuilder team, Presley was the Vice President of Technology at Headhunter.net, where he was responsible for software development including the Headhunter platform, integrated financial systems and EIS systems based on an advanced data warehouse. In this capacity, Presley also performed the functions of the chief architect of the website.

Prior to joining Headhunter, Presley held a number of technology positions - including Senior Consultant and System Architect - at Advance Technology Corp., a technology solutions provider. While at ATC, Eric oversaw the re-architecting of the DNA platform used in Telco proactive maintenance. Other successful initiatives included the production of a GPS -based vehicle monitoring system and an enterprise-integrated technician dispatching system.

Earlier in his career, Presley was a Lead Developer at Northern Telecom Ltd., a global communications networking company. At Northern Telecom, he performed key development of software controlling subsystems within the BNR switch architecture.

Rosemary Haefner Vice President, Human Resources

As Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com, Haefner is responsible for developing and implementing global strategies for employee engagement, talent management, organizational design, recruiting, benefits, and community outreach.

Pulling from her more than 15 years of extensive HR experience and research, Haefner is an employment expert who regularly addresses a variety of industry forums as well as appears on national Television (FOX NEWSCHANNEL, The Donny Deutsh Show, Fox Business TV, CNN, The Early Show, etc.) and radio (NPR, CBS Marketwatch, etc.) programs to discuss the state of the job market, hiring practices and a multitude of workplace issues.

Under Haefner's leadership, CareerBuilder has received numerous employment focused awards including BusinessWeek's 'Best Places to Launch a Career 2007,' Top 25 Best Places to Work in Chicago by Chicago Magazine and Atlanta Business Chronicle's Atlanta's Best Places to work 2006. Haefner also received the 2008 American Business Award for "Human Resource Executive of the Year."

Before joining CareerBuilder.com, Haefner headed up the Midwest Region's Employee Services team for RCN Corporation. Prior to this, she served as Vice President of Human Resources for AGENCY.COM as well as a Senior Human Resources Consultant at McGladrey & Pullen. Haefner has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Hope Gurion Chief Development Officer

As Chief Development Officer, Hope Gurion is in charge of identifying and growing new business ventures for the company. In addition to overseeing investments in opportunities to expand the services CareerBuilder provides to its customers, Gurion spearheads CareerBuilder.com's lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. to address critical Internet and human resource issues.

She also manages several service and product lines, including advertising, creative services, social media, SEO and CareerBuilder's niche sites, including WorkInRetail.com, Sologig.com, CareerRookie.com. Prior to joining CareerBuilder.com, Gurion held a variety of marketing and business development roles for America Online and Discovery Communications. Gurion holds an MBA degree from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

Alex Green General Counsel

Alex Green is General Counsel for CareerBuilder, responsible for managing all legal matters involving the company. In his role, Green develops policies, programs and strategies to support and propel the company's fast-paced growth domestically and overseas.

Green has an extensive background in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and litigation management, with an exceptional track record in commercial and employee relations matters. He has also played an integral role in the company's international expansion efforts. Prior to joining CareerBuilder, Green served as Senior Counsel for Household International and McDonald's Corporation and worked as a corporate attorney for the law firm of Ross & Hardies.

Green holds a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Green is active in the local Chicago community and has served on the board of Windy City Habitat, Chicago's Habitat for Humanity affiliate.