Matthew Lavery

It is with heavy hearts that the family of Matthew P. Lavery announces his sudden passing on July 9, 2025. Born on May 10, 1972, in Evergreen Park to Marion Lavery, Matt was a devoted son, cherished brother to Linda (Jeff) Hlista, Susan (John) Banas, Bruce (Terri) Tharp, and the late Sean (Tina) Lavery, beloved uncle to Susan, Bruce, Ryan, Victoria, Megan, Rory, Baileigh, and Kenzington, and treasured friend to more than can be listed.

Matt started his career with United Parcel Services on February 10, 1997, as an HR Interviewer in the UPS CACH Employment Office located in Hodgkin’s, IL. His abilities were quickly realized, and he rose through the management ranks at the location leading the Campus Recruitment and Help Wanted Advertisements initiatives. In 2003, Matt became the Training & Development Manager supporting the career development and management training programs at CACH. In 2004, he accepted a special assignment to develop and implement what came to be the UPS Online Applicant Tracking System and UPSJOBS.com, transitioning UPS from paper to digital employment applications. The following year, Matt was offered and accepted the role of Workforce Planning Manager and relocated to Atlanta, GA. His continuing success as an innovator with workforce planning strategies and technology led to a promotion in 2006, to Workforce Planning Director.

In 2014, Matt took a special assignment in Brussels, Belgium and was successful in leading the recruitment expansion of the UPS Applicant Tracking System into Europe. He returned to Atlanta in 2015, where he continued his role as the Corporate Workforce Planning Director working on recruitment advertising, sourcing of candidates and the administration of UPS online recruiting systems. Matt was a visionary that continued to make improvements to UPS’s existing HR processes and technologies by supporting the implementations of several other new recruiting technologies which led to a Compliance Center, Candidate Relationship Management System, Applicant Tracking System for US High Volume Recruiting and upgrading the UPSJOBS.com website. Not only did Matt have a tremendous impact on the recruiting strategy and workforce technology success at UPS, but also was dedicated to the development of his team within the Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition departments. His dedication and efforts allowed UPS to hire hundreds of thousands of employees to support global operations including peak holiday season hiring initiatives.

In his most recent role, Matt served as the Global Director of Sourcing, Recruiting & Onboarding at UPS where he led high-volume hiring strategies and enterprise-wide talent initiatives that spanned hourly to executive roles. His breadth of expertise in scaling recruitment operations, deploying AI-driven hiring technologies, and building future-ready workforce solutions at global scale made him a sought-after speaker on HR industry panels and podcasts. Over the 28 years, Matt helped shaped UPS’s talent strategy and pioneered efforts in DEI hiring, automation, and candidate experience transformation which has led UPS being a best-in-class in high-volume hiring.

Matt was a devoted fan through and through—his allegiance to the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears ran deep. But above all, his heart belonged to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, a passion so unmistakable it radiated to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. On countless college football Saturdays, Matt could be found orchestrating his legendary tailgate—a masterclass in hospitality and innovation. Always more than enough food and drink, it provided an atmosphere that rivaled the game itself. His setup consistently wowed newcomers and regulars alike. To join Matt’s tailgate was to step into something truly special.

Matt will be sorely missed. He already is.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in Matt's honor to the Brother Rice High School Crusader Fund at https://www.brotherrice.org/crusaderfund-payment/.