Jean Frankel is founder and principal of Ideas for Action, LLC. She is an internationally known and respected management consultant, educator, facilitator and executive coach, and is a trusted thought partner to senior academic and administrative leaders in colleges and universities, as well as CEOs and executive directors of professional and philanthropic nonprofit organizations.
Frankel’s current or recent clients include senior leaders at the University of Michigan, Washington State University, Michigan State University, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. As an experienced consultant, Frankel also helps organizations find solutions to critical issues and challenges. She is a proven strategist, with group process and analytical skills enhancing her ability to develop collaborative solutions with clients in the areas of strategic planning, leadership development, and organizational structure, process and culture change. In addition to her work in higher education, Frankel is also regarded as a major contributor to the unique body of knowledge of association management and leadership in membership organizations.
She is co-author of three best-selling books –The Will to Govern Well, considered a classic on association governance, Building a Knowledge-Based Culture, focusing on the special dynamics of membership organizations, and her new work on leadership From Insight to Action: Six New Ways to Think, Lead and Achieve, all published by Association Management Press.
Prior to founding Ideas for Action, LLC in 1995, Frankel led large-scale planning and organizational change efforts for major corporations such as American Express and AT&T. She has also had functional responsibility in strategic planning, marketing and sales, information technology, customer service, engineering, manufacturing and human resources.
Frankel holds a B.A. from Muhlenberg College, did graduate work in Journalism and Mass Communications at New York University, and is a graduate of Columbia University’s Executive and Organizational Coaching Certification Program, a strategic partnership between the Columbia Business School and the Teacher’s College Executive Education Department. Certified at the highest level as an Executive and Organizational Coach from Columbia University. She is also certified in the following leadership assessments tools: NBI (Neethling Brain Instrument), Hogan Development Series (HDS, HPI, MVPI), MHS Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EQ-I 2.0) and Culture in the Workplace Assessment. (CWQ)
Kim inspires and develops leaders to achieve strategies for long-term success.
With more than 25 years of accomplishment as a chief executive in the public, private and association sectors, Kim knows that developing and implementing strategy is the key to any organization's long-term success. He provides governance, strategy, restructuring, operational excellence consulting services, and finds and develops exceptional leaders.
He is an electrical engineering graduate from the University of Ottawa and holds a master of business administration from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. He was inducted as a Fellow of Engineers Canada (2009) and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (2014).
In his 35+ year career, Kim has been fortunate to work in six other organizations in three sectors.
Leadership Roles
Professional Associations led:
- Engineers Canada, the national association of engineering regulators governing Canada's 300,000 engineers
- Professional Engineers Ontario, Canada's largest engineering regulator, regulating the practice of 80,000 engineers and 6,000 firms
Private Sector Service Organizations led:
- DTE/Probyn Energy Solutions, private sector joint venture
- Universe2U, a publicly traded telecom, built from a start-up
Crown/Municipal Corporations I have led or played senior roles:
- Scarborough Public Utilities – a $400 million municipal electric and water utility
- Ontario Hydro, provincial utility
Boards and Public Service
Kim sits on the board of the Ontario Energy Network and serves as the chair of Information Communication Technology Council’s industry growth task force. Previously, he was a Board member with Certified Management Accountants Ontario, Yves Laundry Foundation, and the Rotary Club of Scarborough. Also, he has served on Advisory Committee for the Fairness Commissioner, Government of Canada's Expert Panel on Internationally Trained Professionals, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration’s Round-table, chaired Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council’s Licensing and Occupations Bridging Working Group.
