Rupprecht has been involved with the commercial real estate industry for more than 30 years, including the development, leasing and asset management of numerous projects.
He was named president of the West Des Moines company in October 2007, not long before the start of the Great Recession.
“The economy soured, construction halted and several real estate companies vanished into bankruptcy,” Suku Radia, former CEO of Bankers Trust Co., wrote in nominating Rupprecht for the honor. “R&R, however, persevered. Mark’s leadership and R&R’s history of strategic investments, helped the company not only stay on course but grow.”
Several years ago, Rupprecht saw an opportunity to expand R&R’s footprint in the Omaha market.
“He did not jump into it,” Radia wrote. “Instead, he did his diligence and hired the right person to lead the charge into Omaha. [The due diligence] led to a very successful Omaha operation.”
Rupprecht is an Iowa State University graduate with a major in finance. He serves on the boards of directors of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, the Greater Des Moines Partnership and Iowa State University Research Park and is on the Ivy College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council at ISU.
He also is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO Gold) and the Greater Des Moines Committee as well as a member of the Business Record’s inaugural Forty Under 40 class and a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute.
The award will be presented at the Business Record’s Commercial Real Estate forum, which will be held virtually from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 22. Register for the free event >>
More about Rupprecht will be included in the April 23 issue of the Business Record.
Previous CRE Professional of the Year recipients include Gerry Neugent of Knapp Properties, Rick Tollakson of Hubbell Realty Co., Richard Hurd of Hurd Real Estate Services and Jake Christensen of Christensen Development, Jennifer Cooper of Bankers Trust Co., and Kevin Crowley of NAI Iowa Realty Commercial.
