ATLANTA—Jack Portman, vice chairman of Portman Holdings, launched his career in 1973 as an architect for John Portman & Associates in Atlanta. He later expanded his responsibilities from the design field to a position of corporate leadership.

Portman quickly moved to establish the first Portman international office in Hong Kong in 1979. In 1980, he helped pioneer Portman Holdings' entry into China and laid the groundwork for the design and development of Shanghai Centre.

How big of a deal was it? Portman became one of the first western development companies to develop real estate in China. In 1993, he established an office in Shanghai before finally returning to Atlanta in 1998 to lead the company stateside. Nevertheless, he went on to set up Portman offices in India and South Korea.

GlobeSt.com: How did you get your start in commercial real estate?

Portman: Given paternal influence, I was fortunate to be exposed to the business through “osmosis” at a very early age, which sparked my curiosity and fed my interest. I grew up around commercial real estate discussions, and I was intrigued to listen, observe and absorb as much as I could.

GlobeSt.com: What have been some of the key turning points in your career?

Portman: Beginning in high school and continuing on through college, I had the opportunity to travel. Each summer, I went somewhere on a mission of discovery and exploration. 

For instance, I spent one summer in Copenhagen, working for an architect. I went to Paris and learned French. I traveled throughout the Middle East, then Asia, studying the culture—rich in antiquities and architecture—absorbing the indigenous influences.

Travel opened up a world of possibilities to me and had a profound effect on the direction of my career. I realized early on that global participation was my objective.

Attending the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and studying architecture gave me the technical education I needed as a foundation upon which to build. At Harvard Graduate School of Design, I received an injection of theoretical design. Out of school, I went to work at our architecture firm, John Portman & Associates, doing the basic tasks that are given to any first- and second-year employees. The experience added to my education and technical foundation. However, it proved challenging for me to stay in one place for extended periods of time.

The firm sent a team, including me, to Egypt to research and analyze a mixed-use opportunity. My responsibility was to begin a survey of construction techniques in the Middle Eastern countries to determine the technical capabilities for building in that part of the world.

I was in Beirut when a political uprising broke out. Confined to a hotel, I had lots of time to think about our businesses, coming to the conclusion that, given the value of our combined perspective as architects and developers, international architecture and development was possible. We worked in Saudi Arabia and then Pakistan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

I found that Asia was compatible with my mentality and anticipated the growth that was coming to the region. So, the businesses focused on Asia. I moved to Hong Kong and worked to gain inroads into Asian markets. Our roles in our first Asian projects were as architects, before we initiated a development in Singapore.

In 1979, I had the opportunity to visit China immediately after normalization. Because no commercial development had taken place in China since the early 1940s, much of our early dealings there were pedantic, as I had to patiently explain the development process.

I painstakingly discussed, in a Socratic style, what architects and developers do, what it would cost and what we all could expect in return. Through that process, relationships were formed, trust was established and Portman earned a reputation for reliability and integrity from which we still benefit today.

In the mid-1990s, a dip in the market led us to explore opportunities in India which we have maintained a presence in since 1996. Today, our three primary markets are the US, India and China. We are very pleased that in the past two years, our focus in the United States has led to new, exciting projects here which span adaptive reuse, select service and mixed-use in multiple markets.

Learn more about Portman's journey in an upcoming Atlanta edition.