Paul Sobel is the Chairman Emeritus of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). He was appointed to this role in February 2018 and served as the Chairman until December 2022. He led the Board in the development of guidance and thought leadership on internal control, enterprise risk management, governance and fraud.
In 2020, Paul retired from Georgia-Pacific, LLC, a privately-owned forest and consumer products
company based in Atlanta, GA, where he served as Vice President/Chief Risk Officer after being in the Vice President/Chief Audit Executive (CAE) role for seven years. He previously served as the CAE for three public companies: Mirant Corporation, an energy company based in Atlanta, GA.; Aquila, Inc., an energy company based in Kansas City, MO.; and Harcourt General’s publishing operations based in Orlando, FL.
Paul has authored or co-authored four books: Managing Risk in Uncertain Times; Auditor’s Risk
Management Guide: Integrating Auditing and ERM; Internal Auditing: Assurance and Advisory
Services; and Enterprise Risk Management: Achieving and Sustaining Success.
In 2013-2014 Paul served as Chairman of the Board for The Institute of Internal auditors (IIA) and has served in other IIA leadership roles. In 2012, he was recognized in Treasury & Risk Magazine’s list of 100 Most Influential People in Finance. He recently finished a seven-year term on the Consultancy Advisory Group for IFAC’s International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IIASB) and International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). In the past, he served on the COSO ERM Advisory Council for the update to the COSO ERM framework and the Standing Advisory Group of the PCAOB. In 2017, he received The IIA’s Bradford Cadmus Memorial Award for contributions to the internal audit profession and was inducted into The IIA’s American Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners. In 2020 he received The IIA’s Victor Z. Brink Award for distinguished service. In 2023 he received the William G. Bishop III Lifetime Achievement Award.