Kerry Frank is a visionary entrepreneur and the founder of Comply365, a pioneering software company specializing in innovative solutions for the travel, aviation, and compliance industries. Known for her ability to lead through challenges with determination and humor, Frank has been instrumental in building a company that addresses critical operational needs with transformative digital products.
Under Frank’s leadership, Comply365 became a trusted name in aviation and other regulated sectors, offering software that simplifies complex compliance processes and enhances operational efficiency. Her work has helped streamline workflows for major airlines and enterprises, contributing to safer, more effective, and agile operations.
Frank revolutionized the aviation industry by integrating modern technology, such as iPads, into traditional cockpit systems like black boxes. This innovation allowed pilots and airlines to move away from cumbersome paper-based operations, enabling a seamless and digital approach to compliance, safety documentation, and operational workflows. The iPad integration provided pilots with easy access to flight manuals, real-time updates, and streamlined communication with ground crews, reducing the likelihood of errors and improving efficiency.
Her work bridged the gap between advanced software tools and legacy aviation systems, ensuring compatibility and enhancing data accessibility. This shift not only improved operational safety but also helped airlines save significant costs by reducing manual paperwork and improving overall productivity. Frank's vision for a digitally connected cockpit set a new standard in aviation technology, paving the way for smarter, more efficient flight operations.
Frank's entrepreneurial journey is characterized by her relentless drive, adaptability, and passion for solving industry pain points. She is celebrated not only for her business acumen but also for her ability to foster innovation and resilience within her team. Her efforts have established Comply365 as a leader in its field, supporting clients worldwide.
With a strong belief in the power of technology to create positive change, Kerry Frank has consistently demonstrated her commitment to delivering impactful, user-friendly solutions that empower organizations to excel in highly competitive environments.
Meet Kerry Frank, She May Just Revolutionize The Oil & Gas Industry
Extraction technology has clearly played a pivotal role in launching the shale revolution in Western North Dakota and across the country.
George Mitchell's innovations in the oil fields of Texas to pioneer hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling laid the groundwork for the technology used today. Technology which extracts a only small percentage of the potentially recoverable oil in the Bakken and other shale formations.
Advanced or enhanced extraction technologies may come along and allow drillers to double or triple their output but of course that technology must maintain a cost parity with the current price of oil.
But technology and innovation doesn’t necessarily need to happen on the drill site to effectively impact the bottom line.
That's the approach one software company is bringing over to oil & gas industry from aviation industry.
At the surface, Comply365 is a software company that provides solutions for managing business operations and processes. But that is sort of like saying Apple is a company that provides solutions for managing music and apps.
This is a company that seemingly swooped in out of nowhere to solve many of the paperwork problems plaguing the airline industry.
Leading the charge is Kerry Frank, Comply365's Founder and CEO.
It was Frank who wondered if there was way to move 90 lbs of paper from a pilot's flight case to a 1.5 lb iPad and at the same time tame the physical transfer of thousands of paper documents to an automated mobile electronic process.
Frank explains, "When a 1500 page manual needs to be changed because of new FAA regulations, it would be printed and sent out to the pilots. They in turn had to sign they received it, and send the old manual back to be destroyed."
If the pilots were found to be flying without the most up-to-date information, the airlines could be fined by the FAA.
The solution was simple to Frank: Give the pilots iPads and push a button to send the updated documents out. Monitor which pilots had received them and know exactly which pilots were or were not in regulatory compliance.
Once she knew the pilot the document problem was solved, Frank asked for meetings with representatives from all departments within the airline to hear what problems they had.
It was this simple act of listening that opened up the entire organization to Frank and her software. Frank and her team came to the realization that, "We’re not just going to solve a pilot problem, we’re going to solve an enterprise problem."
A traditionally risk-averse and change-averse industry suddenly found themselves ideating ways to eliminate wasteful processes and develop new efficiencies using Frank's platform.
It took an outsider to look through the siloed walls of the organization to see how technology could create a line-of-sight solution connecting ground crews to dispatch to maintenance to flight crews.
In a few years, Frank went from industry outsider to an industry thought leader.
After presenting her solutions to one airline's CEO, he told Frank, "Within 5 minutes I knew you'd solved every pain point we have and several others."
"I've never sold anything in my life where I've never been told no" says Frank of her success with the airlines.
Frank is so good at listening in fact, the airlines asked her to create employee training solutions. Then they asked for procedure forms. Then they asked for forms that triggered workflows.
"Our clients created the software" says Frank.
The transition to oil & gas was natural to Frank, "Both industries are dealing with a mobile workforce with high turnover and limited connectivity. Both industries are regulated and need to monitor compliance."
Frank and her team have already begun doing for the gas industry what they did for the airlines.
The first order of business is to get to know the processes, identify the problems and help the industry create solutions.
Take for example the paper trail of a gas pipeline inspection report.
An inspector is sent into the field to inspect a gas pipeline. He fills out a paper report which could contain data important to several individuals or departments.
The paper document is passed between several people before reaching the corporate office where the data is keyed into an electronic spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is sent out to a recipient list who is the responsible for deciphering if and when any maintenance and repair actions need to be taken.
The Comply365 solution would instead send the inspector into the field with an iPad to do the inspection and recording the data into the device. When the inspector returns to an area where he has internet connectivity, the data immediately syncs up with the corporate database and immediately trigger any required workflow for maintenance and repair to the appropriate people or departments.
The Comply365 platform is truly industry agnostic but it certainly shows its strength in regulated industries.
"Any operation that is regulated is run by forms, policies, procedures, and communication. Without those, your business is dead in the water" says Frank.
Frank's family plays an important role as her 'Home Board of Directors'. When Frank realized she was going to commit to building Comply365 it was important that her family understood exactly what that meant.
Frank told her husband and three children, "I'll lose everything for this business. If we end up in a one-bedroom apartment we all have to survive. Our marriage has to survive and we have to all be committed."
The vote was unanimous. Everyone was in.
Frank's business Board of Directors is impressive as well and a testament to the company she's built.
Frank has the support of former Apple CFO Joe Graziano and the tech entrepreneur Rob Ryan.
Friends and family asked why she felt she needed a board.
"To do our best work," says Frank, "I believe we all need to be accountable to someone."
Those instincts paid off for Frank and Ryan has been particularly influential to Frank's success:
"I'm a dreamer" says Frank. "Rob was the first person to ever tell me I wasn't dreaming big enough."
It might be crazy to think that software will revolutionize oil & gas but Frank's vision, business acumen, and her eye for innovation just might prove invaluable to the central offices across the Bakken.
(Article and interview from 2013.)
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