Tony Crescenzo

President & CEO

Tony Crescenzo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Intelligent Waves, with the overall responsibility of leading the company’s strategic growth initiatives with leading-edge innovation, executive management, leadership, and expansion into new markets.

Tony is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He joined the Intelligent Waves team after serving as CEO of IntelliDyne, LLC since 2013. In his tenured thirty-plus years career, Crescenzo has held strategic leadership positions at Software AG Federal Systems, CACI, and Initiate Systems. He also served as President and CEO of Inline Software, and President and CEO of Illumitek, an SPSS spin-off. Tony was the founder and CEO of Analysis Frameworks, and a Partner at the Management Consulting Firm Achievence, where he led the strategy practice for clients in the federal market.

Tony is a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and is the Co-Chair of NVTC’s Veteran’s Employment Initiative Foundation. Tony is a member and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Semper Fi Fund and a member of the Board of Directors of Ascentium LLC.

Leadership Philosophy

I believe, first and foremost, that everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves; that a leader’s role is to envision a future that does not yet exist and inspire others to not only make that vision real, but to make it their own.

Leaders set the example, lead by example, and are responsible for all that their team does or fails to do.

Trust, accountability, and transparency are the foundation of good leadership. I will not tolerate those who break trust.

Every decision I make is filtered first through two lenses. What’s in the best interest of our customer/mission, and what’s in the best interests of our team members? Everything else comes after those. When we create and provide value to our customers, we will continue to earn their trust and additional opportunities to serve. When we create a valuable work experience for our teams, retention goes up and culture is reinforced.

Culture is the very foundation of any organization. I will always prioritize culture over individual skill or achievement and expect others to do the same. It’s much easier to teach skill than attitude.

I expect no public surprises; if you’ll miss a deadline, inform me beforehand, and be prepared with a plan to get back on track.

The best idea wins, period. Great ideas come from all levels of an organization. I strive to be open to ideas and opinions at all levels of our organization.

Dissent is not encouraged, nor is it tolerated. Dissent is required. I expect you to challenge assumptions, question decisions and strive make even great ideas better.

Everyone wins an argument, no one wins a fight. I expect everyone to argue passionately for their ideas. Once a decision is made, however, I expect leaders to execute as if it were their own decision. Expect me to challenge your arguments and assumptions.

Good decisions are based on facts, not feelings. I will always be more interested in HOW you arrived at a decision rather than the decision itself. Be prepared to answer questions.

I will ask many questions, and I don’t expect you to have every answer. Questions are my way of determining the limits of our understanding. If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t pretend. Say so, then find out.

Speed and agility are competitive differentiators, and the ability to get inside the decision loop of customers, partners, and competitors is critical to our success. Gaining and maintaining the initiative with each of these groups is central to our success.