Paula Petakos

Paula C. Petakos, Commercial Property Manager and Project Manager at Jones Lang LaSalle, received the 2021 BOMA Georgia Committee Chair of the Year Award. The award was created to recognize job performance as a committee or task force chair, ethics, credibility, professionalism, team building, ability to lead, and support of BOMA during the year. The award recipient was selected by the BOMA Georgia President, in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer. Paula received the award in recognition serving as chair of the Government Affairs Committee.

“To say that the past two years were a challenge, would only be putting it mildly. Not deterred, this year’s award recipient proves she is a standout among committee leaders,” said Natalie Tyler-Martin, 2021 BOMA Georgia President. “When 2020 arrived, many of our cherished BOMA events had to be postponed or modified. As BOMA Georgia pivoted into a time of rapid adaptability, this committee chair stood by BOMA and her committee serving two terms as chair. She met the moment, assisting the association in our innovation of the award-winning Enhanced Exposure Experience, which replaced our annual trade show and allowed allied members to make valuable connections with decision makers in asset management, property management, and building engineering. Her service continued in 2021 with the return of the successful in-person BOMA Trade Show.”

“As a committee leader, she is kind, thoughtful, inclusive and innovative; and she established and led committee meetings where all the members of her committee felt empowered to contribute to the success of our annual trade show,” said Gabriel Eckert, BOMA Georgia Chief Executive Officer. “Thanks to her leadership, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 BOMA Show was another sold-out success.”

Paula joined BOMA Georgia in 2016 and has been an active member of the Trade Show Committee since 2017. She served as vice chair of the committee in 2019 and chair in both 2020 and 2021. She also served as a member of the Trade Show Silent Auction Subcommittee from 2018 to 2021 and as a member of the Trade Show Volunteer Subcommittee in 2020 and 2021.

Paula started her commercial real estate career in November 2007 when she joined Southeastern Partners as a Commercial Real Estate Realtor, a position she held until April 2011. From April 2011 to August 2016 she created and operated Petakos, LLC, a property management and project management company. Through her company, she planned and managed multi-million-dollar projects while aligning business goals with technology solutions to drive process improvements, competitive advantage, and bottom-line gains.

She then joined Lincoln Property Company (LPC) in August 2016 as an Assistant Property Manager and Project Manager, a position she held through August 2019. At LPC, Paula had responsibilities related to both Class A office and retail properties. In September 2019, she accepted a position as a Construction Project Manager and Assistant Property Manager with Cousins Properties. There, she continued to have responsibility for Class A and retail properties and served as construction project manager for more than 1 million square feet of office, retail, and parking structures.

Paula left Cousins Properties in November 2019 to work with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as a Commercial Property Manager and Project Manager. At JLL, at the time of receiving this award, she was responsible for the operational management of two commercial mid-rise office buildings, totaling 700,000 square feet.

Paula graduated from Barney Fletcher Real Estate School in Dunwoody, Georgia, completing the Real Estate Salesperson’s Course in 2005. She also earned a Georgia real estate license.