Why it matters
In a market long dominated by Manila-based firms, Cornelius Magnate positions itself differently. The firm focuses on training, leadership development, organizational innovation, communication, and reputational risk management, offering programs tailored for multinational brands, legacy Filipino corporations, professionalizing Filipino-Chinese family businesses, government institutions, cooperatives, and MSMEs.
The model is simple but distinctive: strategies must be inclusive, practical, and anchored in people. That positioning has allowed Cornelius Magnate to serve clients from Makati’s executive circles to cooperatives in Samar and Sultan Kudarat.
Spotlight on the founder
At the helm is Lerona, who describes himself as a global probinsyano. With more than 20 years of experience in communication, marketing, innovation, and reputational risk management, he has bridged two worlds—polished multinational boardrooms and grassroots provincial markets.
“I’ve seen how strategy can feel distant when it’s only talked about in big boardrooms,” Lerona tells Insider PH. “But when you bring it to the countryside—when you align it with culture, daily struggles, and local aspirations—that’s when growth truly takes root.”
Academic, corporate credentials
Lerona earned his Business Administration degree from the University of the Philippines Visayas, later completing a Masters in Innovation and Business at the Asian Institute of Management, with executive programs in futures thinking, corporate strategy, and innovation systems design.
He earned an executive certificate in digital leadership from the Singapore Management University, and also studied adult learning at the Ateneo de Manila University.
These credentials sit atop an extensive corporate career with Home Credit Philippines, Arthaland, Federal Land, Smart Communications, and SM Supermalls. Each stint, Lerona says, gave him a front-row view of how organizations adapt—or fail to—when markets shift.
A consultant serving all islands
Cornelius Magnate today partners with a wide spectrum of organizations: multinational brands, corporate leaders, MSMEs, cooperatives, startups, LGUs, hospitality groups, and agricultural enterprises.
In the past year, the firm has worked with internationally branded restaurants, a chain of hotels and resorts, a Cebu-based real estate developer, a Visayan bakeshop brand with more than 500 branches spread across the country, an appliance retail chain with over 120 stores nationwide, a pharmaceutical company, a medical and science equipment provider, and a power distributor network in the Visayas.
Beyond corporate projects, Lerona has personally trained over 1,000 entrepreneurs, farmers, and cooperative leaders nationwide. As a thought leader, he has addressed more than 50,000 individuals in forums, workshops, and conferences through the years.
The big picture
What sets Cornelius Magnate apart is its ability to embed global business frameworks into local cultural and economic contexts. Rather than importing solutions from Manila, the firm builds strategies from within.
“Innovation must not only improve systems—it must uplift people,” Lerona says.
Looking ahead
Cornelius Magnate is expanding its national footprint while staying true to its Ilonggo roots. Its mission: to prove that world-class consulting can come from the provinces and that sustainable growth happens when strategy meets humanity.
