Our Team
Our mission is to help clients launch, grow and exit their company successfully.
We do this by providing you with the expertise you need when you need it. Ultimately this means helping you drive higher revenues, earn more profit, and maximizing your business value.
Our Advisory Services deliver effective solutions that yield the greatest competitive advantage for our clients. The CORNERSTONE advantage is comprised of several factors, which together, provide real and implementable solutions. These factors include:
DALLAS ROMANOWSKI
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Dallas Romanowski is an Entrepreneurial Advisor that loves helping others launch, grow, and eventually exit their business. Dallas has played a critical role in the success of many businesses ranging from the Fortune 5000 to scores of small companies. Prior to founding Cornerstone Business Advisors, Dallas was a business development executive for IBM, a management consultant for Accenture, and an Intern for the Dept. of the Army. Dallas is also the author of Performance Culture – a leadership book that describes how leaders can drive profit while building a great workplace. He co-founded Performance Culture, an HR Tech SaaS business, in 2015 and led a successful exit for the original investors in 2020.
Dallas earned his MBA from Emory University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business from UNCW.
RICH NOVAK
MANAGING PARTNER
Rich brings a wealth of strategic business knowledge to the firm and focuses on Executive Coaching for Cornerstone by facilitating and engaging in personal coaching for clients. Prior to Cornerstone, Rich was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Joseph Horne Co., a 3,200 employee company. Rich has also played the role of an equity partner/consultant in several privately owned companies. His experience ranges from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized privately owned businesses. Rich earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Rutgers University.
CHIP MAYO
MANAGING PARTNER
As a business advisor, no service he provides yields more tangible benefits than “Exit Planning”, the creation of plans that allow business owners to decide when and how they will leave their businesses, maximize the value they receive, minimize risks and retain control. Using a proven process, Chip works with business owners to create written customized, realistic, and executable Exit Plans that address potential obstacles and provide a path of action with scheduling and benchmarks.
Chip has guided, directed, and served on a variety of ownership and leadership teams throughout his career. Prior to joining Cornerstone, he spent over two decades directly involved in ownership transitions for several leading global technology companies. Chip brings a wealth of experience in business transition execution, portfolio management, and marketing operations.
Chip received his Bachelor of Science in Business from East Carolina University, an MBA from Campbell University, and completed Pepperdine University’s corporate education program in executive leadership. He is a Certified Exit Planner (CExP™) through the Business Enterprise Institute in Denver, CO.
BRIAN SMITH
EXECUTIVE COACH & PARTNER
Brian is a senior executive with experience in demanding complex business situations including start-ups, restructuring, turnarounds, acquisitions, rapid expansion and growth. He is a strong, effective leader attuned to service economy businesses including financial and retail services with ability to deliver consistent revenue growth as well as EBIT and stock growth. Brian Smith is a founding member of Life Equity, LLC, a leading Life Settlement Company. In this role, Brian secured over $1 billion of financing from institutions including Berkshire Hathaway, Bear Stearns, JP Morgan and Mizuho Bank. He also negotiated the sale of majority interest to Kohlberg & Co., in 2011. Prior to founding Life Equity, Brian was the President and COO of Cole National Corporation, a $1.1 billion company operating over 3,400 specialty retail locations including 800 Things Remembered personalized gift stores located in regional malls, and 2,600 optical locations (corporate and franchised in North America and Europe). Total system wide revenues of $1.6 billion. Cole National operated the second largest network of optical manufacturing labs in the United States. The corporation had over 20,000 full and part-time employees.
Brian earned both his MBA (Accounting & Finance) and Bachelor of Science (Marketing) Degrees from Cornell University.
Rob Kaiser
PARTNER
Rob Kaiser is the owner and publisher of Wilmington Media + Marketing, which produces Greater Wilmington Business Journal, WILMA, Good Life Wilmington, Feast Wilmington, and numerous other events. He previously served as the director of VentureSouth Wilmington, an angel investment group.
Before moving to Wilmington in 2007, Rob helped create a business publication in Fort Wayne, Indiana as its editor and then became the paper’s publisher. He previously worked as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Asian Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Business Journal, and Lynchburg News & Advance. Rob has an undergraduate degree from James Madison University and an MBA and master’s in journalism from Northwestern University.
Susan Mc Lean
Senior Advisor
Susan has over 20 years of accounting and finance experience in small/medium-sized businesses. Susan specializes in creating strategies for companies to optimize their financial results while growing their business to achieve maximum return on investment for business owners during the exit planning period. Susan has experience in completing the due diligence process for buy-outs and acquisitions. Susan co-founded Filmwerks International with her husband, Michael Satrazemis, and completed a majority sale to Seaport Capital Partners. Susan received her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Mathematics Education from North Carolina State University, an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and will complete her Master of Science in Accountancy in June 2024.
Larry Blacker
Transaction Advisor - Homecare United
Larry comes from a deep background in the homecare industry, previously owning a Home Instead Senior Care franchise for more than 17 years. After selling his company in 2018 – with the help of Cornerstone Business Advisors – he joined their team.
At Cornerstone, Larry assisted clientele with services geared to growing their business, exit planning, and business transaction brokerage services. At the same time, he played a critical administrator role in a popular retirement community. There, he oversaw the Home Care Department, which offers Medicare-covered services as well as private pay nursing and certified home health aide services.
JEN WIRTZ
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Jen Wirtz manages operations and provides partner support for the Cornerstone team. She has over 20 years of experience supporting executive leadership teams through project management, accounting, operations, and client/vendor relations. Jen enjoys fast-paced environments filled with challenges in entrepreneurial settings.
Jen’s past experience includes positions as Accounts Payable Manager and Project Manager for a $40 million food manufacturing company and Business Development for the Komen Race for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Exercise and Sports Sciences.