D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University

M.B.A., The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland/U.K.

B.Com., University of Calcutta, India

Dr. Paul Lopez serves on the faculty of the Executive Programs of the Coles College of Business as a lecturer within the Department of Leadership and Professional Development. He brings to this role a background of new business ventures and thirty years of corporate and academic experience.  

Dr. Lopez is currently the Senior Partner of Element Funding, a mortgage lending company offering residential mortgages in the southeastern U.S.  The firm, headquartered in Atlanta and with offices located in Georgia and Florida, is a startup business run by highly seasoned executives from the mortgage banking industry.  The company’s website is www.elementfunding.com.     

Dr. Lopez retired in early 2007 as the Executive Vice President of Business Development & Sales at HomeBanc after 8 years of service.  HomeBanc is one of the largest regional mortgage banks, and has been ranked from 2003 through 2007 on Fortune Magazine’s list of “100 Best Places to Work in America,” as well as the # 1 or #2 employer in its class by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.    Dr. Lopez has experience in small, medium-sized and large firms across multiple industries … he has been President of LPI Enterprises, a consulting firm in the area of business strategy and implementation, a VP/General Manager at Moore Corporation, and was employed for almost 20 years at IBM and Xerox in field and headquarters positions with regional and multi-national responsibilities.  He has also worked abroad in London, England.   His background spans general management, field sales, business development, human resources, strategic alliances, technical and customer support.

Dr. Lopez has been a faculty member at the business schools of California State University and Louisiana Tech University in the areas of management and marketing.  He holds a doctorate in business administration from Louisiana Tech University, an MBA from Queen’s University in Northern Ireland, and a Bachelor’s of Commerce degree from the University of Calcutta, India. 

Dr. Lopez is highly involved in the community, serving on the Board of MUST Ministries where he chairs their Strategic Planning Committee, co-chair of the Advisory Board for Executive MBA Programs at Kennesaw State University’s business school, and chair of the Professional Advisors Committee to the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia.      

Dr. Lopez resides in the East Cobb suburb of Atlanta with his wife, Ellen Lopez RN.  He has two grown children and three grandsons living in the greater Atlanta area.