M.B.A.–New York University
B.S.–University of Pennsylvania

Paul D. Lapides is Co-founder and Director of the Corporate Governance Center in the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University, where he is a professor of management and entrepreneurship. His research and teaching interests include corporate governance, entrepreneurial finance, management, real estate, and venture creation.

A Research Fellow at the University of Tennessee’s Corporate Governance Center, Mr. Lapides has 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 (ATDC), a nationally recognized science and technology incubator, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Mr. Lapides received the 2000 Kennesaw State University Distinguished Service Award; has been recognized as one of the leading academic authorities on corporate governance by Corporate Board Member; and is the author or coauthor of more than 100 articles and twelve books, including several best sellers. He is 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 literally thousands of publications and on national and local television and radio, including, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, USA Today, CNBC’s Morning Call, Bloomberg television and radio, NPR, London's Financial Times, Canada’s National Post, Associated Press, Dow Jones, Bloomberg, Reuters, CBSMarketWatch, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Deal, Director's Monthly, Corporate Board Member, Trustee, and Directors & Boards.

Mr. Lapides is 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.

He was a member of the National Association of Corporate Director’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees. The Commission developed recommendations for improving audit committee performance, and published, The Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees: A Practical Guide (1999, 2004).

Mr. Lapides is a member of the board of directors of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE: SUI), a real estate investment trust; EasyLink Services International Corporation (NASDAQ: ESIC), a provider of business-to-business e-commerce solutions; and the Board of Directors Network, Inc. (BDN), whose mission is to increase the number of women on corporate boards. He also serves on the advisory boards of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD); the Newman Real Estate Institute at Baruch College; Grubhub.com LLC, a lead generation company; and W. Ray Wallace & Associates, Inc., an Inc. 500 company providing training cost recovery services.

His business and consulting experience includes advising hundreds of start-up, growth and mid-market companies, as well as many of America’s Fortune 500 companies, managing a diversified $3 billion real estate portfolio, raising more than $1 billion in equity capital for start–up and growth companies, and providing expert witness and litigation services.

A CPA, Mr. Lapides earned a BS with honors in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from New York University. Prior to joining the faculty at Kennesaw State University, he held faculty positions at New York University and Columbia University.