Eleven different times, Chris Paul has either co-founded a startup or joined on the ground floor. And whether it was online media or rowing machines or an internet-enabled basketball hoop, his role has largely remained the same: to build, operationalize, and manage the software team that would make good on the company’s vision.

And as he built a resumé that reads more like an encyclopedia, Paul found a reservoir of software talent to tap: Khoury College co-ops. For more than a decade, he has not only hired them at company after company; he has involved his colleagues, forged connections with other companies, and shared his expertise with cohort after cohort of students at Khoury events. It’s no wonder, then, that the college bestowed him with an Outstanding Co-op Employer honor a few years back. Now, he’s added another: 40 for 40 honoree.

“In a town with some very good schools, Northeastern has long been my favorite place to hire engineers from because of the co-op program and the quality of the CS curriculum,” Paul said. “I simply love the program. I’m a huge fan, and I’ve tried to get involved.”

Paul began his own professional computing journey after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 1977 — “a hundred years ago,” he jokes, “with what amounted to a CS degree back then.” After working six years at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), then the second-largest computer manufacturer around, he founded his own: Working Set. The new company developed an SQL database for DEC that reigned as the world’s fastest for seven years, and Paul helped to develop database products for Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM.

From there, his career bounced between startups in numerous fields. Document management. Web traffic analytics. Media streaming. Video engagement analysis. Customized tween girl apparel. Investment reporting. But it was during his stint at InsightSquared that he first started hiring Khoury students, and the Boston-based business analytics company soon became a sought-after co-op spot.

“That was the big switchover because I met so many great Northeastern engineers,” Paul remembers. “Northeastern students love to build things. It’s a great culture of building and doing, and that’s the differentiating factor. They have a ton of out-of-class, practical experience that essentially none of the other schools have. You can work summer internships for a few months, but you can’t beat two or three stints of six months.”

Just about everywhere Paul went from that point, from software solutions provider Continuum to digital health company Om1 to rowing machine manufacturer Hydrow, he brought Khoury co-ops with him and earned rave reviews from colleagues. But the co-ops didn’t just come to him; he came to them too. Paul attended and volunteered for signature Khoury events, participated in panels, and shared his expertise with students looking to grow their skills and careers.

Northeastern students love to build things. It’s a great culture of building and doing, and that’s the differentiating factor. They have a ton of out-of-class, practical experience that essentially none of the other schools have. You can work summer internships for a few months, but you can’t beat two or three stints of six months

“I remember learning and struggling during my early days at Carnegie Mellon, and it would have been a whole lot easier if I’d had a decent mentor,” Paul explains. “Now I’m an old engineer with lots of experience who enjoys mentoring Northeastern students … The co-op program is so great, and it’s gratifying for me to help out in any way I can.”

Now, after his first retirement lasted, as his wife Lisa jokes, “about 15 minutes,” Paul says he phased out the majority of his work this spring to the point where he is now “very, very part-time.” He’s begun to make good on his long-awaited travel plans, rowing in Chattanooga, Tennessee before jetting off to France. And Rhode Kill, the long-running 65+ basketball team that Paul calls his “weekly religious experience,” is poised to make a serious run at a National Senior Games championship in July.

But even as Paul retires from working life, his fingerprints will linger in the form of the rising young professionals for whom he opened doors and shared wisdom.