Leadership & Recruiting Staff
Brad Widolok
Founder, CEO
Brad is the founder and CEO of Bernard Nickels and Associates (BNA). He started the firm in 2002 with a focus on providing recruitment and staffing services to companies across the tri-state area. Since then BNA has grown to become a nationwide full-service staffing and recruitment firm servicing multiple lines of business. Brad’s strong work ethic and belief in Extreme Service for both his clients and candidates is what makes him one of today’s industry leaders.
Prior to starting Bernard Nickels and Associates, Brad was a Managing Director for the Execu|Search Group, a full-service recruitment firm based in New York. Brad started his career in 1996 as an Account Executive for a publicly traded IT training and consulting firm. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 1995 with a BA in Journalism.
Brad is an avid guitar player and collector. He is also a fitness enthusiast with an emphasis on running, cross-training and yoga. Brad resides in Long Island, NY where he enjoys spending his free time with his wife and three children.
Dave Margolis
Partner
An influential member of our firm since 2005, Dave is a Partner who has spent the last 9 years building our Energy, Power and Infrastructure Practice. In this area he concentrates on Engineering, Technology, Business Development and Operations. Dave is a team player and leads by example by always going the distance and by treating clients, candidates and colleagues with honesty and respect.
“Treat others as you would like to be treated. Look through their lens and see what they are seeing. Always do the right thing!” With this mentality Dave serves as a strong mentor and leader within the firm.
Prior to joining Bernard Nickels and Associates Dave was the Managing Partner at Trykor Rolling Media. A company that he had started on his own and grew into a leading national media company.
Dave earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Hartford
He is a proud Husband and Father of two twin girls and lives in New Jersey. He enjoys surfing, hiking, gardening, and music.
Noah Nielsen
Partner
Noah Nielsen joined BNA in 2010 as an entry level recruiter fresh out of college and never looked back. Establishing himself early on as a top performer, Noah grew to become recruiting manager and successfully led our team in New York
Since 2014, he has focused on business development and account management where Noah prides himself on fostering mutually beneficial long-term relationships with both clients and candidates while providing extreme service. He enjoys helping his clients build high performing teams and excels at filling the most challenging positions by bringing passive candidates to the table.
Noah earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Vermont and enjoys spending time with his family, rooting for New England sports teams, and playing guitar.
Sales & Recruiting
Dan Brusco -
Dan Brusco joined BNA in 2014 and is a Senior Executive Recruiter. He works with the client executive teams to source and fill senior and management level positions.
Dan graduated from Loyola University Maryland in 2012 with a B.B.A in Finance. In his free time, Dan likes to stay active playing in city basketball and softball leagues. He enjoys spending his weekends on the North Fork of Long Island. Dan resides in New York, NY with his wife and daughter and loves trying new restaurants throughout the city.
Kevin Culleton -
Kevin joined the BNA Team in January 2017 after receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY in December of 2016. He became interested in recruitment, as it combines both learning about new industry trends across different practice areas while being able to interact with all different kinds of professionals. Kevin prides himself on being extremely diligent and willing to go the extra mile to make sure all his candidate needs are satisfied along with a persistent work ethic.
Kevin is an avid martial arts enthusiast with a first-degree black belt in Taekwondo focusing on Boxing and Kickboxing. He lives in Long Island, NY where he enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Tom Taubes -
An important member of Bernard Nickels & Associates Recruitment Team (since 2007), Tom focuses on roles specializing in Information Technology, Human Resources, Marketing and Legal verticals. Throughout his 10-year recruiting career with BNA, Tom is a team player who leads by example and always going the distance; treating clients, candidates, and colleagues with transparency, honesty and respect.
Tom holds an MBA in Marketing from Adelphi University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Miami. Prior to BNA, he spent 12 years in the direct marketing working at Avon and Fortunoff.
Tom is a board member for an organization responsible for running intramural sports programs and is Director of Baseball Programs in Long Island where he resides with his wife and two children.
Sara Knowles - Executive Recruiter
Sara is a South Jersey native with a “people first” mentality. She prides herself on
building long lasting connections and helping candidates navigate the hiring process.
She always had a dream of picking up and moving to the West Coast. She wanted a career that
would allow her to grow her sales experience and provide the freedom to move to San Diego,
California. Recruiting has given her the necessary skills to continue fostering strong
relationships all over the country. Sara has big plans to positively impact the careers and
companies of the people that work with BNA.
When she’s not sourcing for talent, you can find Sara traveling, hiking, at the beach, or spending
time with friends and family.
Nick Yakobi - Senior Executive Recruiter
Nick is a Chicago-based member of the BNA team who joined the firm in February 2023. He’s a graduate of the University of Iowa with a BBA focused in HR Management. Nick has gained experience in all areas of HR throughout his career but has always been most passionate about Recruiting because it allows him to develop strong, long-lasting relationships with both candidates and clients. For Nick, nothing beats the feeling of delivering and having a candidate accept a job offer because he knows how exciting of (and potentially life-changing) a moment it is.
When he’s not recruiting, you can find Nick traveling, working out, going to concerts, and hanging out with family and friends.
Support Staff
Dianka Feddows -
Dianka was the first employee to join the firm in 2004. Since her start with the company she has had a host of responsibilities. She is a part of the team that handles payroll, human resources and office management. Her years of experience working at BNA is often an asset when working with clients as well as consultants.
Dianka graduated from Hunter College with a BA in Political Science. She is a self-proclaimed ‘geek’ and enjoys reading, gym workouts, a variety of music, as well as spending quality time with her husband and young son.
Svetlana Savitskiy - Accounting Manager
Svetlana has been with the Company since 2004. She is our Accounting Manager and is responsible for a host of back office tasks; including our payroll, banking, taxation and bookkeeping. Together with our back office team, she is responsible for the day to day running of the office.
Svetlana emigrated from the Ukraine in the mid 1990’s. She enjoys travel and spending time with friends and family.