Jacob Ruppel

Jacob Ruppel, Assistant Chief Engineer with Portman Holdings, received the 2023 BOMA Georgia Engineer of the Year Award. The award was created to recognize a building engineer who has provided innovative ideas to their building or facility in saving energy, time and/or money, with award nominees evaluated on job performance, ethics, credibility, professionalism, community service, team building, industry training, and support of BOMA.

An individual who nominated Jacob for the award said, “Jacob has done an outstanding job this past year as BOMA Technical Organization Chair and has brought great leadership to BOMA Georgia. He is enthusiastic about BOMA Georgia’s goals and ideals and has time and again proven his worth with Portman with his continuously expanding role and extreme professionalism.”

One of Jacob’s coworkers said, “Although his title is Assistant Chief Engineer, his role within the Portman organization far out strips that category. Jacob’s position has him working closely with Portman’s development and construction divisions on projects all over the Southeast, including Charlotte and Nashville, as well as Atlanta. He helps ensure adherence to design, submits changes where a need arises, as well as cost effective solutions and implementation as they are identified. He coordinates activities with architects, consultants, design engineers, service providers and the Portman teams towards ensuring timely and on budget project completion.”

Another individual who nominated him for the award said, “Jacob is highly analytical, detail oriented, and enthusiastic about his work as an engineer at Portman. He is constantly looking for new opportunities to improve our properties and drive innovation in our building systems.”

Jacob was an active member of BOMA Georgia’s BOMA Technical Organization (BTO) Council, serving as vice chair in 2022 and chair in 2023. He was also an active member of the Community Service Committee and served as a TOBY Awards judge.

“Jacob’s insights into building operations and maintenance never cease to amaze me,” BOMA Georgia Senior Director of Operations and Communications Jacob Wilder said. “His contributions to BOMA Georgia’s BOMA Technical Organization in terms of both technical knowledge and career development and advancement increased the quality of the BTO’s programs. His focus on building engineer engagement from the apprentice level to senior building engineers helped drive record attendance at BTO luncheons and the BTO Breakfast in 2023.”

As a member of Portman Holdings’ asset management team, at the time he received the award, Jacob was responsible for managing the review of operational plans, commissioning, transitioning, and turnover processes for new construction and acquisitions. Also, in his capacity as Start-up Chief Engineer, he led efforts to successfully launch, continuously operate, and ensure the long-term sustainability of new buildings.

Prior to joining Portman Holdings in December 2018, Jacob served as a Building Engineer for Cousins Properties from 2016 to 2018. At Cousins Properties, he was a Grade I Engineer, responsible for hands-on maintenance of building systems for the safe, efficient, and proper operations of properties. He also previously served as a Building Engineer for Regent Partners and Fifth Street Asset Management.

Jacob earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fine/Studio Arts from Valdosta State University in 2013.