Frontline Technologies Hires First Ever CLO (Corrected)

Frontline Technologies Group, a leading educational software company based in Malvern, Pa., tapped Victoria Silbey as its first chief legal officer this week.

The company, which does business as Frontline Education, provides K-12 schools with administrative software programs. Silbey’s move comes as school districts across the U.S. are facing an uncertain year as Covid-19 cases surpass four million in the U.S.

“It really combines two of my passions,” Silbey told Bloomberg Law. “One was education and the other is software, and I love the idea that by doing employee-focused, back office, administrative-type software, we could free up our educators to do what they do best, which is educating our children.”

The jobs of educators will look a bit different this year. School administrators are concerned about the health of their students and staff as they consider how to approach the new school year, said Andrea Fitzpatrick, Frontline’s director of corporate communications.

Fitzpatrick said Frontline programs that help schools track student and staff health could become “need-to-have” for identifying and containing cases of Covid-19 as schools navigate the pandemic.

On the legal side, Silbey said a major challenge schools face is complying with local, state, and federal regulations, which may differ even from county to county. She added that Frontline is helping schools track these regulatory changes and requirements online.

Capacity for Growth

Silbey formerly served for three years as the chief legal officer and senior vice president at for-profit university network Laureate Education, Inc., which operates primarily in Latin America. She said her move to Frontline as its first formal chief legal officer signals the software company’s capacity for growth.

“We are thrilled to have Victoria bring her years of legal and business expertise to Frontline Education as we grow and enhance our in-house compliance & corporate governance capabilities,” said Frontline CEO Mark Gruzin in a July 21 statement.

Other recent Frontline hires include Ayikudy Srikanth, who became chief technology officer last December, and Gruzin, who joined the company as CEO last July.

Rick Sinkfield replaced Silbey as Laureate’s chief legal officer last month, according to a June 30 statement from Laureate. Sinkfield previously served as senior vice president and assistant general counsel, among other roles, in his 16-year tenure with Laureate.

Laureate Education went public in 2017 with shares priced at $14. The company’s stock peaked this February at just over $21 but fell by more than half after the pandemic hit global markets in late March.

Silbey joined Laureate Education in 2017 after the IPO. She had spent nearly two decades as general counsel and chief legal officer for software company SunGard Data Systems. Prior to her in-house career, Silbey also spent six years as a litigation associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.