Edward M. DePaola, PE, M.ASCE (Life), F.SEI

President & CEO

Ed DePaola has designed buildings using almost every structural system and material and is considered an expert in high-rise and tensile membrane construction. He joined Severud Associates in 1981 and started accumulating the experience and expertise that resulted in his becoming a principal only 12 years later. He soon expanded his leadership role and was named president and CEO in 2006.

Over his more than 40 years with the firm, Ed has engineered many challenging and noteworthy structures including the new corporate headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, One Vanderbilt Avenue, and the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, three of the tallest office buildings in New York City. Among his other significant projects are the One Madison Avenue and George Washington Bridge Bus Station redevelopments and the temporary entrance canopy at the World Trade Center PATH station, all in New York City, as well as the roof of the Jeppesen Terminal at Denver International Airport.

As a leader in the field, Ed shares his professional expertise through his work as a fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and a member of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Advisory Group. He also serves on committees of SEI and the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York and is a past president of the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY), past governor of SEI, past chair of the SEI Futures Fund Board, and past director of the Structural Engineering Certification Board (SECB). Ed was named one of The 2022 Construction Power 100 by City & State of New York.

Ed was a member of the team that investigated the World Trade Center collapse and is a co-author of the report, World Trade Center Building Performance Study, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in April 2002. He is also author or co-author of several articles, including “One Bryant Park, New York,” which appeared in Structural Engineering International in February 2008, and “Smooth Re-Entry: The Entrance Canopy at the Temporary WTC PATH Terminal,” which appeared in Structure in February 2005. Ed frequently makes topical presentations at conferences and other meetings of design professionals.

Ed is licensed as a professional engineer in New York and 20 other states. He was certified by SECB until the program’s sunset in 2022. He earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and a Master of Science in civil engineering, both from the University of Notre Dame. In addition, he received a law degree from Seton Hall University.