In March 1991, Wichita native James R. Paul ’56 returned to his alma mater to deliver the James P. Schwartz Memorial Lecture. Past lecturers included the chief executives of such companies as PepsiCo, Federal Express and Raytheon.With Paul, the list grew to include the CEO of Houston-based Coastal Corp., one of the country’s 50 largest industrial companies.
Coastal had a strong presence in Kansas (including three refineries and two major pipelines) before Paul, a former pitcher for the Shockers, was named CEO in late 1989.
Paul had joined the company in 1973, rising through the ranks with promotions every few years. As president and CEO, he strengthened Coastal’s ties to Wichita State, as evidenced by the company’s $100,000 gift in 1991 to the WSU baseball program.
Described as a low-key, serious-minded businessman who believed in the power of hard work, Paul asked the WSU students he encountered during his 1991 return to campus: “How many successful lazy people do you know?” While a college student himself, Paul owned and operated several small businesses including a tool grinding company, a printing concern, a farming enterprise and a paint contracting firm.
After college he worked at Boeing in Seattle and then at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. and Robertson Distribution Systems, both in Houston, before joining Coastal. After his tenure at Coastal ended in 1994, he was chairman and largest shareholder of Worldwide Cellular.
Jim Paul died Dec. 29, 2014, in Kingwood, Texas.
