ATLANTA—Jack Portman, vice president of Portman Holdings, has seen plenty of challenges in his 40-plus-year commercial real estate career. In part two of this exclusive interview, he shares the biggest challenge of them all and how he navigated back to center.

A quick review: Portman 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. He 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. It was in the 80s that he saw his biggest challenge.

Did you miss part one of this series? You can still read it: Jack Portman Shares Turning Points of His Career.