Chase Franklin

Daptiv has experienced its share of ups and downs over the years. But the 12-year-old maker of online collaboration software is hoping that a new CEO -- a familiar face in the Seattle tech community -- will help serve as a stabilizing force.

Chase Franklin, who worked wonders as the CEO of Qpass, repositioning the company after the dot com bust and selling it to Amdocs for a cool $275 million in 2006, has been named CEO of Daptiv. The announcement comes two months after Jeff Pancottine -- who had served as CEO of Daptiv for more than three years -- resigned.

Franklin, who had been living in Arizona for the past few years, said he's excited about the prospects. And the 51-year-old executive said he's ready to roll up his sleeves and "dig in."

"It is no secret that Daptiv maybe got run into a rough patch over the last year. The macro economy hasn't been helpful, but I think that is part of what attracted me is the challenges in the business," said Franklin, who was introduced to the company by Qpass co-founder and Seattle venture capitalist Bill Bryant.

Franklin got to know the team and board, saying the more he learned the more the job made sense.

"It is not to say that if Daptiv was running as smooth as a Rolls Royce, that I wouldn't be interested," he added. "But, frankly, I like challenging situations and I think Daptiv has some very solid aspects of its business right now....I think it is going to be real fun to grow this thing."

Franklin had little knowledge of Daptiv when he took some time to meet with executives during a recent vacation to Seattle, other than the fact that Qpass once sublet some space to the company in Pioneer Square. But Franklin -- whose appointment is being announced to employees this morning -- said he was attracted to the opportunity because of the smart people working at Daptiv.

At the time of Pancottine's departure, Daptiv Chairman Kevin Hickey undertook a search to find a replacement. In a statement today, he expressed enthusiasm with Franklin's appointment.

"Attracting someone of his caliber and with his proven track record leading and growing software companies is a clear testament to Daptiv’s value today and in the future,” said Hickey.

Prior to founding Qpass -- where the Western Washington grad worked from 1997 to 2007 -- Franklin spent a decade at Microsoft. After the sale of Qpass, Franklin worked as an executive at Amdocs.

Daptiv sells online project management and collaboration software, with hundreds of customers such as Frontier Airlines, OhioHealth, Honeywell and others. It employs 95 people, and has raised about $30 million from Bay Partners, Kennet and others.

Franklin sees opportunity in the intensely competitive arena of online project management software, a sector that no fewer than half a dozen Northwest companies are attacking. In fact, because of that fragmentation, Franklin said "I think that is one of the opportunities for us."

He didn't rule out the possibility of acquisitions. "That certainly could be part of our strategy," he said.

Franklin is best known for repositioning Qpass after the dot com bust, a miraculous turnaround. He certainly will be drawing on some of those skills at Daptiv.

"I wouldn't put Daptiv in quite the same category as the dive and catch we did with Qpass, but I would be lying if I didn't say there were some aspects of the business that we didn't think needed some careful work and could be running a lot more effectively today," he said. "It is the kind of situation that I like where I can roll up my sleeves and dig in and work with great people, and I think we can do some really good things at Daptiv. I think its best years are ahead of it, I certainly hope."