About Paul W. Ridlen

Paul W. Ridlen of Denver, president of U.S. operations for Knight Piésold, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Missouri S&T in 1989 and 1991, respectively. At Knight Piésold, he is responsible for operations in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Knight Piésold Group, a global mining and hydropower specialty firm founded in South Africa in 1921 and now based in London. Ridlen has worked for large engineering companies such as Woodward-Clyde/URS Corp., Stone & Webster and Tetra Tech, as well as the medium-sized firm S.H. Smith & Co. A recognized expert in the design and operation of tailings dams, Ridlen consults on several projects around the world and is the current U.S. representative for tailings dams to the International Commission on Large Dams and is active in several other professional organizations. He has authored several technical publications and is a lead author on the Unified Guidelines for Tailings Dam Safety being developed by the U.S. Society of Dams for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Ridlen has been an invited lecturer for several short courses and conferences in the U.S. and Brazil. He has supported several charitable organizations throughout his career, including St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Water.org, Engineers Without Borders and Christian Veterinary Mission.