Cornerstone Advisors Reports Significant Growth With 60 New Clients and Seven Team Additions

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Management consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors announced significant firm growth today, led by the addition of banking technology and operations expert Quintin Sykes as managing director.

"In addition to growing projects with existing clients, Cornerstone Advisors added 60 new clients over the past year," said Scott Sommer, Cornerstone Advisors president and chief executive officer. "One new area of the firm's focus is regional bank expansion, and Quintin brings a wealth of experience to meet the increasing demand and momentum with larger organizations."

Prior to Cornerstone Advisors Sykes served in senior advisory roles at Crescent Consulting, Hitachi Consulting and Price Waterhouse and was chief information officer of The South Financial Group.

Mary Anne Keegan also joined Cornerstone Advisors as chief marketing officer. Keegan led marketing and corporate communications for global and early-state companies in the technology industry focused on financial services including BillGuard, Earning Warning Services and First Data.

In Cornerstone Advisors' Performance Solutions practice area, Joe Ganzelli joins the team as senior director and Melissa Rogers as director. Ganzelli brings a focus on revenue opportunities and business banking strategies. Prior to Cornerstone Advisors, he was a banker specializing in deposit operations, commercial and industrial lending and business offerings and held consulting roles with AFS, Fiserv and KPMG. Rogers brings the performance and process improvement expertise gained from consulting roles at AFS and Fiserv.

Niel Devasir and Steve Koenemann joined the Technology Solutions practice area as senior director and senior consultant, respectively. Devasir has a track record of building high growth and operationally efficient companies and brings strong technology and vendor management experience. Devasir was formerly with Capital One and several credit unions. Koenemann brings solid information technology, project management and business operations expertise. Koenemann was a technical solution architect at Fiserv/Open Solutions, chief technology officer at a credit union, and founded a technology consulting firm.

Michelle Lederer joins Cornerstone's Mergers and Acquisitions practice as a director. Lederer has significant bank leadership experience specializing in project management, process improvement, budgetary controls and change management. Her past experience includes mergers and acquisitions, project management, and strategic planning and execution at several banks including First Interstate and US Bancorp.

In team leadership developments, Bob Roth and Eric Weikart were named partners in the firm. Roth is an expert in contract negotiations and payments, and Weikart specializes in performance and process improvement. "We are looking forward to seeing how our Contracts and Performance practices blossom under the leadership of these two proven executives," Sommer said.

Founded in 2002, Cornerstone Advisors, a management consulting firm focused exclusively on mid-size banks and larger credit unions, provides an array of customized solutions designed to assist financial institutions with their Strategy, Performance, Technology, Contracts, Payments, Risk Management and Delivery Channels initiatives. The Cornerstone team founded industry renowned GonzoBanker; authors the Cornerstone Performance Report, a series of authoritative benchmarking studies for both mid-size banks and credit unions; and hosts a variety of bank and credit union executive round tables.

For more information, contact:
Sam Kilmer
Senior Director
480.425.5210 
[email protected] 

Scott Sommer
President and CEO
480.423.2030
[email protected] 

SOURCE Cornerstone Advisors