Distinguished tenure, vision, and leadership played key role in creation of ISACA
Schaumburg, IL, USA—ISACA mourns the loss and celebrates the legacy of Eugene “Gene” Frank, a founding member of the association and its 1972–1973 board chair, whose contributions were instrumental in shaping the organization’s early direction.
“Gene Frank made the ISACA of today and tomorrow possible,” said John De Santis, ISACA board chair. “Gene saw a need for professionals in his field to exchange information about an emerging field, learn from one another and become stronger professionals through that community. He had the concept for today’s ISACA, built around regular meetings, membership in a community, and shared knowledge. Gene’s dedication to building ISACA and his vision and hard work to accomplish that goal were truly one-of-a-kind.”
Frank served as ISACA board chair from 1972-1973, but his commitment to ISACA spanned decades. During his many years of service, ISACA saw its global footprint increase to include members on nearly every continent, all generating and sharing thought leadership, content and expertise that has helped the wider international IT assurance, cybersecurity and digital trust communities.
“By 1976, Gene Frank’s vision for our organization had become a reality—a national organization with more than 1,500 members in chapters across the United States,” said Erik Prusch, ISACA CEO. “ISACA as it exists today, is due to Gene’s vision, plain and simple. It is impossible to overstate the impact that Board Chair Gene Frank had upon our organization. Our sincerest condolences go out to his family at this difficult time. ISACA is deeply grateful to them for sharing Gene with our organization for so many years.”
Frank participated in ISACA’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2019, telling staff, “I couldn’t have imagined the size of this organization today in my wildest dreams. The truth of it is that ISACA has far surpassed anything I could ever imagine.”
ISACA honors Frank’s legacy with its annual Eugene M. Frank Award, the highest honor ISACA bestows. The recipient is selected annually by the ISACA Membership from among the class of Hall of Fame inductees. ISACA also will celebrate Frank’s life and contributions at the organization’s upcoming Annual General Meeting in July.
Frank is survived by his son Todd and two grandchildren. Learn more about him in this ISACA Now blog post.
About ISACA
ISACA® (www.isaca.org) champions the global workforce advancing trust in technology. For more than 55 years, ISACA has empowered its community of 195,000+ members with the knowledge, credentials, training and network they need to thrive in fields like information security, governance, assurance, risk management, data privacy and emerging tech. With a presence in more than 190 countries and with more than 230 chapters worldwide, ISACA offers resources tailored to every stage of members’ careers—helping them to thrive in a rapidly changing digital landscape, drive trusted innovation and ensure a more secure digital world. Through the ISACA Foundation, ISACA also expands IT and education career pathways, fostering opportunities to grow the next generation of technology professionals.
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Contact:
communications@isaca.org
Emily Ayala, +1.847.385.7223
Bridget Drufke, +1.847.660.5554
