Draft:Kerry W. Kirby

Kerry W. Kirby is an American businessman, software designer and philanthropist, known as the founder and CEO of a technology platform, 365 Connect.

Early life and education
Kirby was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Tulane University where he studied business management.

Career
Kirby founded 365 Connect in 2003 and serves as its CEO. The software-as-service (SaaS) platform provides automated marketing, leasing, and resident service platforms for the multifamily housing industry.

In 2007, he launched a podcast with property management expert, Ernest F. Oriente. In 2017, Kirby purchased the a rental housing search engine, uCribs, from a London-based investment group dedicated to the apartments located near the universities. In 2018, he launched an integration with Uber which created one-click ride reservations directly from an apartment community’s website.

In 2023, Kirby developed a system for people to apply for apartments online. The system manages inventory, verifies identity, calculates income qualification, builds, and delivers lease documents for signature and collects payments without human intervention, utilizing a combination of artificial intelligence and automation. Kirby has received multiple awards, including the Louisiana Governor’s Technology Award, Multifamily Innovation Bootstrapper Award and Titan Entrepreneur Award. He has been placed on Silicon Bayou's 100 list of most influential entrepreneurs for his work in the technology industry and 365 Connect.

Kirby serves on the Board of Advisors of Rainbow, a national nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for affordable housing communities across the United States. He is also Chair of Technology Initiatives for the Multifamily Innovation Advisory Council.

Philanthropy
Kirby and his wife Melinda have received the Global Communitas Award for their contributions to humanitarian, educational, healthcare and equality programs. They have been a longtime supporters of the National Kidney Foundation in Louisiana, Electric Girls, a non-profit STEM program for girls age 5-18y, ChildHelp, a national non-profit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse, and STARC of Louisiana, a non-profit organization centered on providing programs for individuals with disabilities.