Cornerstone Systems

In 1997, transportation veteran Rick Rodell made a decision to create something special for those he cared about. Founded with a simple purpose to provide a better place for people to work, Cornerstone Systems was incorporated in the state of Tennessee on April 21st. He had three employees, 5,000 sq. ft. of office space and 6 cell phones.

Fast forward to today, Cornerstone has offices all across the country, is an employee-owned, award-winning, multi-million dollar company, and a premier leader in the transportation industry. We believe our continued growth is a true testament to our employees and that same belief in what became our official Purpose Statement, “To Provide A Better Place For People To Work”. What makes us different is our people, and our shared core values of integrity, honesty, respect, loyalty and to never be satisfied – we will continuously seek improvement. It’s how we treat each other and how we interact with you.

Our continued growth is a true testament to our employees, and a steadfast belief in our Purpose Statement and Core Values. A purpose statement is different than a mission statement. In a conversation with Chairman/Founder Rick Rodell, he was asked what was the purpose in creating Cornerstone in the first place? “To provide a better place for people to work” he replied. That simple statement, along with our set of core values, still serve today as the fundamental foundation of who we are, how we hire, and how we conduct ourselves with each other and with our customers.

PURPOSE STATEMENT

“To Provide A Better Place For People To Work”

CORE VALUES

Integrity – Period

Honesty – Absence of Deceit

Respect – How We Treat People

Loyalty – What We Give And Expect In Return

Never Satisfied – We Will Continuously Seek Improvement

We hear it over and over…we are different.

Walk through our doors and you can feel the enthusiasm. Founded in 1997 “to provide a better place for people to work”, Cornerstone offers a work/life balance second to none. “It’s always been about caring about each other and those we do business with,” said Chairman/Founder Rick Rodell.

At Cornerstone, we focus on our people and believe in our core values. “People who are treated with integrity and respect, who have a good work/life balance, who enjoy their work, will deliver superior value to our customers,” said President/CEO Tim Clay.

We are relationship builders, industry leaders, experienced professionals, trusted advisors, honest communicators, and empowered collaborators. Our workplace is filled with birthday balloons, chili cook-off trophies, 5K marathon medals, Hawaiian luau leis, and countless photos from the Halloween costume contest. Flyers are posted for Food Truck Friday, Cinco de Mayo festivities and the local food bank drive.
Our atmosphere is family-friendly and our employees are appreciated every single day.

We nurture our culture because we believe in it, and in each other. It is our differentiator.

You can feel our enthusiasm. Every single day. We are an employee-centered, employee-owned culture. That is who we are and how we work. It’s collaborative and motivating, and a lifestyle change working for us. Join our HealthFirst outings for a day of rock climbing or running a 5K marathon, jump in line when the food trucks arrive for lunch, compete in fun employee competitions, help us raise money for local food banks. We work. We play. We donate. Together.

Founder Rick Rodell created the company back in 1997 with the purpose to provide a better place for people to work. That became our official battle cry, backed by solid core values of integrity, honesty, respect, loyalty and never satisfied – we will continuously seek improvement.

Pretty great stuff, right? Don’t miss out. We offer competitive compensation packages, benefits, and opportunities to rise.

Join the team. Join the adventure. Join Cornerstone.

“Running this company is personal because the business or heart of the company is all about focusing on people” said Chairman/Founder Rick Rodell. “Customers, vendors, employees and their families. It’s a focus on people, it’s not just a business.” It’s been that way since Rick started the company in 1997. “It’s always been about caring about each other and those we do business with. Period.”

In a transaction that closed on December 28, 2012 Rick took it one step further by selling 49 percent of his company shares to the employees, making Cornerstone an ESOP in 2013. “It’s always been about the employees because that’s the best way to take care of our customers and run a successful business. I tend to get all of the credit but it is the employees that do all the work. It is important that they get rewarded for all of their hard work.”

“When you’re 49 percent ESOP, you’re in deep,” said President/CEO Tim Clay. “When we first started this, we thought we’d like the model. But now, after seven years, we’ve seen how the employees have responded to being owners and knew this would be the correct step forward. It gave us clarity on what to do next, and that was to become fully employed-owned.”

That next step took place when Rick sold his last 51 percent and Cornerstone became 100 percent employee-owned January/2020.

“Becoming an ESOP helped in a number of ways,” said CFO/COO Pat Nieman. “People now understand that their work directly impacts stock value of our company. This has impacted our employees work and it has also helped us in the recruiting process. Being a 100 percent employee-owned company is an additional benefit not many other companies can offer.”

Rick is not last to remember his employees. “I’m very thankful someone came up with the ESOP. It allowed me to reward the employees for all of their hard work, and let’s not forget loyalty, there are many here who have worked with me for over 30 years,” Rick states. “Let’s face it, our employees are the ones our customers deal with. I and Senior Staff may get interviewed, have our pictures taken and make a splash in the local papers, but our employees are the reason we get the press.”

Cornerstone is an equal opportunity company and we are proud of our diversity. As a past recipient of the “Top 500 Mid-Size Businesses in America” award from Diversity Business, we strive to provide a working environment free from discrimination and bias based on race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws. This includes all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. We currently have minority representation in all departments within our company structure. Cornerstone has clear policies and procedures in place to ensure fair treatment for all applicants and employees. Our core values are integrity, honesty, respect, loyalty, and never being satisfied; and we live those values every day.

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Life Insurance/Supplemental Life Insurance
Disability Insurance/Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Value Added Plans with Allstate
401K Including Company Match
ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan/Employee Owned Company)
FAA Federal Credit Union
Reduced or Flexible Hours
Military Leave
Paid Time Off (Vacation, Personal & Sick)
Paid Holidays
Bereavement Leave
Employee Assistance Program
Mobile Phone Discount