Tony Tennaro
Managing Chair
Tony Tennaro
Tony Tennaro founded Cornerstone Initiatives in 2004 in order to bring C12 Group programs to the business community of Greater Charlotte. He sees his mission as helping business leaders align their work with God’s agenda, releasing the transforming power of Jesus Christ into all they touch.
Tony enjoyed a successful career in sales, marketing, and general management, both in large corporations, such as the Quaker State Corporation and Black & Decker, and in smaller entrepreneurial companies. He now brings the benefit of his experience to others, across a range of consumer and industrial markets, products, and services.
As C12 Chair, he enthusiastically serves marketplace leaders, sharing his love of business strategy and performance, integrated with his foundation of faith. Tony is also available to speak at conferences on the topics of “Your Next Right Move: How to Make Wise Decisions and Advance Careers,” and “Recalculating Route: a GPS for Getting Back on Course and Staying There.”
The love of his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren gives Tony daily opportunities to “rejoice and be glad” from their home in Waxhaw, NC.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10).
Dean Williams
With over 40 years of experience in project engineering, general management, and process improvement consulting, with a variety of organizations from Fortune 500 companies to smaller firms, Dean has consistently sought to add value through a focus on continuous improvement.
Prior to becoming an Associate Chair with the C12Group Greater Charlotte, Dean was a manager with Duke Energy, a Senior LEAN Consultant with Invistics, founder and president of Effective Focus Insights, a published author, and a regular speaker and workshop leader nationally and internationally.
Dean is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering. Dean has been married to his wonderful bride, best friend, and talented professional artist, Leigh, since 1977. They have three married children, and six amazing grandchildren (and counting). As a family, the Williams’ have sought, by God’s grace, to live out the words of Joshua when he said, “…. but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” as they integrate their lives and their work with their faith. To that end Dean and Leigh have been actively involved in the church, community, and mission outreach including Dean serving as a Deacon, Elder, and Sunday School teacher, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Samaritans Purse, Charlotte Serve, Charlotte Rescue Mission, Wings of Eagles Ranch, and others, as well as participating in and leading numerous short term missions trips to eastern Europe.
Derek Rogers
Derek has been in Charlotte for 25 years, and has loved seeing the city transform. After graduating from Wake Forest University with a double major in Sociology and French Language & Culture, Derek came to Charlotte in 1994 to join then-NationsBank. Since then, the city’s marketplace - and skyline - changed in significant ways; as part of that, Derek worked for NationsBank/Bank of America for 23 years, building extensive business and internal-consulting experience through enterprise-wide projects and strategic programs. In 2017 he left financial services to spend intentional time at home (focused on his wife Anne and 3 teenaged sons) and in the community (sinking more time into church and various volunteer efforts). Over the past two decades, he has been involved in the city through the Charlotte Leadership Forum, the Foundation for the Carolinas Impact Fund, Halftime Carolinas, partnering with Reformed Theological Seminary, and chairing the Board of The Barnabas Center, a counseling/teaching/training non-profit in town. Derek led the Diaconate at his local church for many years, and has recently transitioned to the office of elder. He loves the way God is leveraging C12 to use the gospel to address concrete marketplace challenges of local business owners: better-defined (and purposeful) strategies; clear execution of goals; and operational excellence, just to name a few. And how He does that within, across and through the discipleship of our Peer Advisory Boards.
