Paul D. Lapides
November 3, 1954 ~ May 25, 2023
Born in:
New York City, New York
Resided in:
Marietta, Georgia
It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Paul D. Lapides, who died on May 25, 2023. It was beyond sad, actually tragic, that Paul developed early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease in his early sixties. It quickly robbed him of all his considerable faculties and left him for many years with a life he would have hated, had he been aware.
Paul was born on November 3, 1954 in New York City. He is survived by his beloved son John, sisters Gail (and her husband Howard), and June (and her husband David), and many loving nephews and a niece. Paul was a devoted family member and especially enjoyed annual Thanksgiving gatherings in Florida and summer vacations on Cape Cod. He considered himself to be the ‘the crazy uncle’ and took pride in living up to the challenge. Uncle Paul was successful in convincing his nephews and brothers-in-law to join him and John on what was to be an unforgettable and harrowing whitewater rafting trip. Fond memories of his magic tricks, jokes, songs, and riddles live on in our hearts and minds forever.
Paul took great interest in the education, early careers, and in mentoring his nephews and niece, always reminding them to ask the big questions, challenge authority, and to live their best pirate lives. His family will remember him as an educator and a stalwart of accountability and equality who was quick to remind everyone that data often lies. Paul’s fight for accountability and equality led to a 9-0 U.S. Supreme Court victory and a change to Federal and State Law.
Paul was a valued member of the Kennesaw State University community for over 20 years where he served as a professor of management and entrepreneurship at the Coles College of Business. He had a passion for business education and dedicated his life to teaching and sharing his knowledge with others. During his years of teaching at Kennesaw he inspired countless students with his enthusiasm and dedication to his work. He was a gifted professor who always went above and beyond to help his students succeed and was widely known for his engaging teaching style. He was always there to offer a listening ear and sage advice to those who needed it. One of his students said “Professor Lapides is one of only a handful of professors that had a true impact to my education and how I apply it today. His real-world experience and how that applied to a 21-year old with no corporate reality enabled me to develop further what I wanted in life”.
It was Paul’s vision to begin the first Corporate Governance Center at an academic institution in the United States. He co-founded the Center at Kennesaw in 1995 and became its first Director. His research and teaching interests included corporate governance, entrepreneurial finance, management, real estate, and venture creation. A Research Fellow at the University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center, Paul also taught at Directors’ College at the University of Georgia, and was named an “ATDC Champion” for his work with entrepreneurs at the Advanced Technology Development Center a nationally recognized science and technology incubator, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Paul received the 2000 Kennesaw State University Distinguished Service Award; was recognized as one of the leading academic authorities on corporate governance by Corporate Board Member; and was the author or coauthor of more than 100 articles and a dozen books and textbooks. He was a winner of the International Facility Management Association’s Distinguished Author Award for Facility Management.
A frequent speaker at business, professional and academic organizations, his opinions have appeared in hundreds of publications and on national television and radio including, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, CNBC’s Morning Call, Bloomberg television and radio, Financial Times, CBS MarketWatch, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
Paul was co-author of “21st Century Governance and Financial Reporting Principles,” issued in March 2002 by the Corporate Governance Center at Kennesaw State University. The Governance Principles were endorsed by the Institute of Internal Auditors, presented to the New York Stock Exchange, and sent to members of Congress and the White House. Paul was a member of the NACD’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees which developed recommendations for improving audit committee performance.
Paul served on two public company Boards of Directors, Sun Communities, Inc. and Easy Link Services. In addition, he was a board member for The Board of Directors Network, Inc. whose mission was to increase the number of women in executive leadership and on corporate boards and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Atlanta Chapter. His business and consulting experience included advising hundreds of start-up, growth and midmarket companies, as well as some of America’s Fortune 500 companies, raising equity capital for start–up and growth companies, and providing expert witness and litigation services.
Paul earned a BS with honors in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from New York University. He became a CPA, and at the time was one of the youngest individuals ever to be certified in New York State. After working at the Big Eight account firm, Arthur Young, he started a property management company, Prime PM. Prior to joining the faculty at Kennesaw State University in 1993, he held faculty positions at New York University and Columbia University.
Paul was a very spiritual person and a long-term member of Congregation Beth Hallel, in Roswell, GA, which was an important part of his life. Paul was a well-liked neighbor, colleague and friend. His warmth, humor, and spirit touched the lives of everyone he met, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
A celebration of Paul’s life is being planned for a later date.
Gifts in memory of Paul may be made to the Cure Dementia Fund at Mass General Hospital or the Emory Brain Health Center. Donations by check to Mass General Hospital can be mailed to the Mass General Development Office at 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston, MA 02114. Please include Cure Dementia Fund 206802 and in memory of Paul Lapides on the memo line. An online donation may be made at www.giving.massgeneral.org. In the “designate this gift to specific program or area section include “Cure Dementia Fund 206802”. In the “tribute/memory section” please include Paul Lapides. Donations by check to the Emory Brain Health Center can be mailed to the Office of Gift Accounting 1762 Clifton Road NE Suite 1400 Atlanta GA 30322 designation Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research, in memory of Paul Lapides. An online donation may be made at https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1705/02-health-sciences/interior-hybrid.aspx?sid=1705&gid=2&pgid=1480&cid=2658&bledit=1&dids=6723&appealcode=UHMA7.
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Paul’s enthusiasm and ability to generate ideas were unmatched. Sometimes, Paul would get so excited about telling a story or pitching an idea that I would have to say, “Back up, Paul. I think you started in the middle.” A trip up to Paul’s office could turn into a wonderful two-hour conversation.
Paul loved teaching and helping students to build their careers. He interacted with businesspeople and the media as well as anyone I have ever seen.
My condolences to Paul’s family. He will be deeply missed, and Paul will always be one of the great characters I have encountered in my life. He was one of a kind.