Q&A with Gene Frank, ISACA Founding Member

Eugene Frank, one of ISACA’s founding members when ISACA was incorporated as the Electronic Data Processing Auditors Association (EDPAA) 50 years ago in Los Angeles, California, USA, has been a central figure in ISACA’s yearlong anniversary celebration. Frank was featured in a special 50^th anniversary video that played at ISACA conferences throughout the world this year, and also participated in in-person 50^th anniversary celebrations at the 2019 North America CACS conference in Anaheim, California, as well as at ISACA’s headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA. During Frank’s recent visit to Schaumburg, he spoke with current ISACA staff about how poet Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous quote about leaving a trail ties in with ISACA’s remarkable growth and shared his thoughts on ISACA’s future. The following is a transcript of the Q&A conversation, edited for length and clarity:

What was your original vision for how to move the organization forward?
My idea was to get CPA firms, because not only did they do audit, but they have people that develop systems, so I thought to have them onboard, and from there, anyone who develops programs. So, a number of people, in fact some of the chairs, were not EDP auditors, nor were they CPAs, but they were people that developed programs or operations, and the idea was to get everyone involved. And the nice things is, and the reason why the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote is so apropos, is [that we were] leaving a trail. Develop your thing, but leave a trail, and the reason why I think this organization now has 140,000 members is that every board and chair left a trail for the next board to follow and to build on. So, there’s a reason that ISACA is global, is such a large organization and now has influence.

What surprises you most about what has transpired over the past 50 years?
I think the fact is that every new board and chair followed and built on what was developed before. So, it’s kind of like a building structure, you start with this and then you build on this, and then you build on that, and the result is that there are 140,000 or so members and 200 or so chapters. Because there’s a need, and people recognize the need. And the size of the organization also helps with cross-pollination because every chapter board has a different slant on things.

What is your wish for the value that ISACA members all around the world get from their relationship with ISACA?
Knowledge, experience. Developing their career in a step-by-step approach and being able to call upon ISACA, depending on the level that you’re at, to build on and learn. You don’t want to have someone overwhelmed. I attended a board meeting in Chicago (many years ago) and they were discussing a new certification program, but it was at a high, complex level. The problem that they faced is that there was a high failure rate. … So why not have a high technical level and a lower technical level so the people that don’t have the certain experience can take the exam at a lower level?

You were part of the 50^th anniversary celebration at North America CACS in Anaheim this year, and now you’ve been part of the staff and board celebration here in Schaumburg and have seen the new ISACA headquarters. What have been your main takeaways from the anniversary celebration this year and seeing first-hand what ISACA looks like at 50?
The truth of it is that ISACA has far surpassed anything I could ever imagine. When I talk about our days as the horse and buggy days compared to the technology today, it’s hard to even make a comparison. It’s kind of like kindergarten versus graduate school. And so, it’s a bit overwhelming to realize how big things have grown, but I feel good because it’s a credit to the way that we structured things. And if you can compare 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972 when we reorganized, and the state of things then versus the state of technology today, it’s like this and like that (gestures to signify a wide gulf). And how do you get the growth going if you don’t have that vision to bring everyone along by having an educational program (with different levels), so that you’re here and then you’re here and then you’re here, and so forth. So, I’m pleased with what we started, and the approach pretty much followed what we had in mind, and certainly the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote of ‘leave a trail so that those that follow you’ can pick up where the trail left off. … You only hope that what you start will grow and develop, but if you were to ask me back in 1972, do you envision an organization with 140,000 members, the answer would have been, ‘Hell no, what are you talking about?’

The 50^th anniversary year is coming to a close soon. Now that we’ve hit this milestone, what is your wish for the future of ISACA?
There are two aspects to that question. There’s a technical aspect, and the reason why membership grows is because everyone wants to get onboard with the technology and to learn and to grow and to develop their career. But just think about all the chapters that ISACA has, and we have chapters in more than 200 countries – if you look at the world today and the threats and the miscommunication between countries, wouldn’t it be nice if a global organization, even though it’s in the technical aspect, can, and I don’t have a specific answer, can kind of impart to the rest of the world that we’re more the same than we are different? And why is it so hard to get along? And why do we allow errant people to dictate conflicts and wars and all that sort of stuff? There’s got to be a way to educate people that we need to get along.