Vision and History

History: Best of the Best

Consortium “solving the dilemma of global vs. local service”: Cornerstone International Group had its genesis in the mid 20th Century when its founder, William Guy, first established his small boutique management consulting firm and later expanded it into a full-service consulting organization that included 100% retained executive search. Having been recruited in the early 1970’s by Korn/Ferry International (company-owned offices) and later in the early 1980’s by Ward Howell International (entrepreneur-owned offices), Mr. Guy recognized that client organizations were frustrated with the dilemma of having to choose between (1) the perceived resources of a bigger consulting organization, and (2) the personal service of a boutique consulting firm. Mr. Guy recognized that Ward Howell had discovered the answer, i.e., to create a consortium that joined smaller consulting firms together into a larger network. Although Ward Howell died in a tragic automobile accident and his firm was absorbed through merger mania, his legacy lives on, because in the late 1980’s that ultimate consulting firm infrastructure became the foundation for Mr. Guy establishing Cornerstone International Group.

Rigorously selecting the “Best of the Best” in each country/city: Although this network or “consortium” concept is genuinely the ultimate infrastructure for delivering “the best of both worlds” to client organizations, many other networks/consortia have fallen by the wayside due to weak selection of member firms. Today, because of our stronger selection criteria, Cornerstone has quietly grown to become one of the world’s largest consulting networks, but more importantly, Cornerstone International Group stands alone as Best of the Best.

Cornerstone has exceeded the competition because Cornerstone’s member firm selection criteria is more rigorous and client-validated than any other global network! For the last several decades, refining this “best of both worlds” blend of small and large, Cornerstone International Group has attracted member firms of higher quality. We attract only the very best which translates to better quality and better service for our clients.

Clients are served directly by Principals:   Normally, when a client firm retains a larger competitor, after the contract has been signed, the actual work is delegated to a “junior” level consultant. Unfortunately, these “junior” professionals (or paraprofessionals) lack the expertise and wisdom to provide the very best service to the client. Conversely, at Cornerstone the client is dealing directly with our Principals. Unlike our competitors, we do not believe in many layers of junior consultants but rather we are committed to the responsiveness of each boutique office–experts in the local geographic market and/or experts in the industry or functional specialization desired by the client. Thus, our clients receive more value from Cornerstone. Instead of quantity resources (excessive layers of “junior” professionals), Cornerstone delivers quality resources through our global network of Principals supported by experts in virtually every industry and every function needed.

Our goal “to be the best we can be”: We wish to be large enough (without sacrificing quality) to best serve client organizations throughout the world with local expertise and local attention. We complete our due diligence beforehand in selecting the highest quality member firms and consultants globally, thus we are prepared in primary and secondary cities with quality support for our clients whenever they need that local expertise and personalized service. Whether public or private, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, and/or whether large or small, our clients know they can trust Cornerstone International Group to give them the best service, the best value, the best results!