Alain Depolla attended the American University of Beirut School of Commerce from 1954 to 1959 and received his BA in Business Administration.

Mr. Depolla joined his family business in 1960 and thereafter participated in the various divisions of their exclusive automobile agencies responsible for the distribution of the SIMCA brand in Lebanon and Syria. In addition, Mr. Depolla was responsible for the coordination of procurement of a variety of Industrial Electrical Equipment supplied to the Public Works department through the enterprise. Mr. Depolla became Chairman of the company from 1962 to 2000.

Concurrently with his industrial activities, Mr. Depolla’s real estate interests saw the establishment of a real estate division within the organization that focussed on land acquisition and sales until the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1989). From 1979-1983, Mr. Depolla oversaw the development of a major residential complex in Paris called “Le Lutèce” as equity investors and project managers.

At the conclusion of the civil war and after the dissolution of France’s SIMCA automobiles, Mr. Depolla returned to Beirut in 1990 and concentrated his activities on development, using his substantial contacts and experience at a time when land prices were rapidly increasing and real estate projects were booming.

In 2000, Mr. Depolla’s involvement at the CASSIA Group developed as a result of his real estate activities that required the selection of an architectural practice for a major client. Thereafter, Mr. Depolla and CASSIA have been frequently collaborating on a majority of proposals for the Beirut market, either for institutional clients such as Solidere or other major private investors, and has been intimately involved in all major developments at the firm since 2001 as Development Manager.