Camille Villar tells us how working closely together with family has brought their business to greater heights
It was a hot and humid afternoon when we shot Camille Villar, Managing Director of Vista Land Commercial and Director of Starmalls, Inc., Golder Bria Holdings, Inc., and AllValue Holdings Corp. Yet amidst the June heat, Camille, clad in the latest fashions, withstood wind and temperature to give us the perfect cover-worthy shot at the balcony area of The Peak by Grand Hyatt. And though the strong breeze would occasionally mess her hair, her stance is much stronger, determined to strike the best pose. The team is instantly enamored by her spirit. Hours after, the shoot wraps. Camille shows no signs of weariness. As the styling team helps her with her makeup, we start the interview. Charming and energetic as she was during the start of the shoot, she answers each question easily. One may think that this is an inherited family trait, having come from a family of politicians, but her voice and message comes naturally. And in turn, the interview felt more like a conversation—where both people talking have the freedom to ask and answer. “Our family has always been in real estate. In 1975, my parents founded a housing company—an affordable housing company called Camella Homes,” she starts.
“It’s the largest homebuilder in the Philippines. We’re present in more than 200 cities and municipalities. This is basically affordable housing for Filipinos. But since the company is more than 40 years old, we’ve expanded to midincome segment housing and also high-end income segment housing. And in the past few years—to become a full-service real estate company, we’ve started developing master-planned communities and commercial centers. So instead of just building subdivisions for our buyers, we actually build selfsustaining master-planned communities that span fifty to a hundred hectares. In Manila, our largest one is Vista City in Daang Hari,” Camille shares.
Vista Land and its subsidiaries have grown much of its business not just in Luzon, but in Visayas and Mindanao as well. In 2013, Camille’s father, Vista Land’s Chairman of the Board Manny Villar decided to expand the company’s prospects from residential developments to commercial developments as well. From Starmalls, the team has developed Vista Malls. Retail anchors soon followed—AllHome, AllDay Supermarket, and Coffee Project.
FOLLOWING HER PARENT’S FOOTSTEPS
Camille finished her MBA Program in Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empressa (IESE Business School) of the University of Navarra in Barcelona, Spain in 2014. Before that, she was managing Brittany, Vista Land’s smallest but high-income segment housing company. “When I came back, I helped my dad expand in malls, and in our retail establishments. So right now we have about twenty-seven Vista Malls throughout the Philippines. We started with about only five,” she proudly states. “And then, we have about nineteen AllHome’s and fifteen AllDay’s, and we’re continuously expanding.”
Asked if joining Vista Land was part of the plan, Camille tells us of how her childhood led her to where she is. With her parents devoting much of their time in their work, weekends were mostly spent onsite. But this does not mean that fun and relaxation were nonexistent in her younger years. She explains that her parents were both extremely passionate about their work, to a point where work doesn’t seem like work anymore. And this mentality was something that was ingrained in her at an early age. “My whole life, I was seeing what my dad and my mom loved to do. And seeing how passionate they were about it, and seeing how much they wanted to do it, I think that was what inspired me to stay in the real estate business and ultimately stay in our family business. I kind of really didn’t think much of doing something else because I was happy,” she explains.
Working with family members has a lot of perks according to Camille, but her favorite among these is the fact that she has her father as her mentor. She remembers the time when the Vista Land team was starting to extend its reach outside the realms of residential development and into retail development. Regardless of their reluctance, her dad guided the entire organization to a smooth transition. Camille proudly tells of her father, “I have a very good mentor. Being able to work with my dad has enabled me to learn many things and has inspired me, to be passionate about what I do and to love what I do.”
It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Camille’s path to finding her purpose and self-discovery gave her a lot of opportunities to try out so many things. She shares, “I’ve hosted, I took design class—my parents never stopped me from that. But I’ve found my way back myself. I think all of us—we don’t have the answers to what we want to do in life exactly. Are we really doing the right thing? I think what’s important is that, whatever it is that you’re doing, you work hard. You strive to be better, and then things will fall into place.”
And the realization taught Camille invaluable lessons that she will always live by, “Things happen in your life, and you always have to move forward. Somehow, you’ll find yourself in the right place. Things will always end up exactly where you’re supposed to be. But I think the key there is you have to move. You have to act. And then somehow you’ll find something you’ll love, and you’ll find yourself doing it. Before you know it, you find yourself doing something that you’re happy and content with, like how I am now.”
“I think what’s important is that, whatever it is that you’re doing, you work hard. You strive to be better, and then things will fall into place.”
LESSONS LEARNED FROM HOME
Both Manny and her mom, Senator Cynthia Villar, have run and won seats in the Senate. Cynthia topped the senatorial race at the recently held mid-term elections. With genes coming from two powerful personalities who have had so much experience leading not only the company but the country as well, one would wonder what important lessons Camille has learned from them. She is quick to answer, “Hard work. My dad, and even my mom to a certain extent—really started from nothing. They really built what they have now, and the main thing with that is really hard work. What they have shown me their whole life is—you cannot achieve anything without working hard for it.”
Camille elaborates that nothing was given to her and her two brothers on a silver platter. Her mom taught them not to feel entitled. This keeps them grounded. She says, “We’re very blessed and grateful that our parents have given us a very comfortable life, but that shouldn’t make us complacent.” She continues with another lesson from his father’s endless well of wisdom, “My dad always tells me ‘Don’t be afraid of failure,’ because the road to success is never easy—it is not without failures. Mistakes are not bad, but the key is you have to learn. If you make mistakes and you don’t learn, that’s a problem. When you make mistakes, when you have failures, when you have struggles, don’t feel sorry—don’t just sit there and feel sorry for yourself. See the silver lining, learn what you can from it, and pick yourself up and move forward.”
And has these lessons made her into a great leader like his parents are? “Oh, dear God,” Camille says, laughing. “In life, I am a work in progress. I can’t even say I’m a good leader. But, I think I learned from my dad to be somewhat of a consensus builder. You can’t just sit there and tell someone ‘Do this, do that.’ You have to make them understand. I don’t ask my people to do something that I cannot do myself. I do try to lead by example. I care about what my people think. I don’t make decisions autocratically.”
Camille admires her team, and she willingly shares how proud she is of them. She describes them as very competent. Hence, their opinions matter to her. Her sunny disposition is evident in her management style—she avoids negative people who disrupt the teamwork. She instead gravitates towards employees who are excellent in performing well as a team. For her, no amount of talent or intelligence can give you success if you can’t work well with others. Her way of leadership is a hybrid of her parents’ styles. “They have different leadership styles. My dad is super patient and understanding, and I can’t say that I’m like all the time. He is more like a visionary—a dreamer. My mom is more like, ‘Let’s do this, let’s do that.’ I like to take parts of my father, parts of my mother, and then create my own based on my own experiences. Hence, I believe that I’m a work in progress.”
FROM ONE VILLAR TO ANOTHER
Her son Tristan, from husband Erwin Genuino, recently turned 4 last January. Well-loved by the Villar clan, one could surmise that Tristan would probably grow up working for the family business just like Camille. And though that is something she wants to see in the future, she is also very open to whatever Tristan turns out to be. She affirms, “With my son I kind of want him to follow the path that I’ve laid out, but even at an early age I see that you cannot force what you want on your children. So, I think I will just try to live my life the best way I can so that I can be a good example. I’d like to share my passions with him, be able to really bring him along, and hopefully, he loves it too in the same manner that I learned to love it. But at the same time, I also want to give him leeway to be his own person.”
“With my son I kind of want him to follow the path that I’ve laid out, but even at an early age I see that you cannot force what you want on your children. So, I think I will just try to live my life the best way I can so that I can be a good example.”
Working closely with people you know very personally can be very tricky too. Camille tells us that you really have to find your groove. “When you’re working with your family, it’s all day and every day. It’s not wrong, it’s not difficult. But you really have to find your way. My oldest brother, Pao, who is the CEO of Vista Land—he had to find his way working with my dad, my mom, and me as well, even with our brother. I’d like to think that he and I have found a good working relationship. I enjoy working with my dad so much and my mom as well. I think it’s one, mutual respect—understanding of each other. And at the same time, communication—really finding something that you have in common, finding things that you are passionate about, and finding your groove.”
“When you make mistakes, when you have failures, when you have struggles, don’t feel sorry—don’t just sit there and feel sorry for yourself. See the silver lining, learn what you can from it, and pick yourself up and move forward.”
THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY
Those who grew up in the southern tip of the metro are familiar with the Villars—their successful career in politics, their ever-growing empire, and the influence and change they have brought in the communities. And much like how they have rolled with the punches and managed to grow their business, Vista Land continues to push the limits of their capacities and innovate in a competitive field. Camille relates, “My dad is always talking about that. Ours is a forty-year-old company, it’s in real estate. There are a lot of changes now in the landscape, and he’s always like, ‘We have to be able to adapt.’ Some companies fade away because they’re unable to adapt to the changing times. When change comes, they don’t welcome it, and before you know it, you’re an old company.” Hence, Manny keeps pushing the team to elevate their game— constantly looking at the trends and making sure that Vista Land is ready for anything.
“When you see the trends around the world, there are certain things that are the same, but there are things that are different. So you have to understand them and see how they apply in the Philippine market. We (Filipinos) are very family-oriented, we always want to see each other. We’re very social people. It’s not the same in the US. Now, we’re not just limiting ourselves to residences. We want to be a full-service real estate company. We want to build communities for the people that have already bought houses for us. And that is more than just a home, you need to build schools, you need to build malls, you need to build supermarkets for them to shop in, you need to create transport systems so that they can go from where they were to where they live. And even better, you create a place of work in their community. That is what Vista Land, Vista Malls, and all our retail outlets are busy with. Regardless of what the trend is, we’re just trying to create living spaces for the people who have already bought homes for us. All our expansion is grounded on that,” Camille shares.
ON DAYS OFF
Outside work Camille enjoys watching television. Documentaries and historical fiction make for great entertainment. She mentions The Crown as one of her favorite shows on Netflix. Crime features involving homeland security and the CIA are also points of interest. But more than any of these, she is instantly drawn to watching news channels. “When I was traveling for my Masters, I was traveling around the world. So sometimes I’d be alone in the hotel room, and the only thing that’s English is CNN. So I watch CNN, and it gives me comfort,” she explains.
Other than that, and some guilty pleasures (gossip magazines and reality television), Camille prefers to spend time for rest and respite with Erwin and Tristan as well as the entire Villar clan. She tells us she’s getting old, so she’d rather not spend her time partying. Travelling is one of the things she enjoys with her family. “I like many parts of Europe. I like London. I like New York. But to me, our home away from home is in Los Angeles. Every year we go there, ever since I was a year old. We spend the holidays there. It’s nothing fancy, it’s not like we’re living in Beverly Hills or anything, but it’s the comfort of American television and grocery shopping and just being able to relax with my family. I have wonderful memories there,” she relates.
CONTINUING A LEGACY
Much like her parents, Camille finds meaning in making a difference. She expounds, “It could be being able to give your son the best possible life, or it could be helping someone else in need. It could be something as great as passing a bill or succeeding in business.” And by creating a positive impact, one's purpose is born. “I really feel that you have to find purpose, and you have to work towards that. I’d like to think that at this point in my life, I've learned what my priorities are—my family, to do well in business, and to serve people the best way that I can. And to be able to do that makes my life more meaningful. It’s definitely not material wealth because you could have that, but your life could be absolutely meaningless. You need to have love in your life. You need to have goals, and you need to be able to achieve them—whatever they are. A meaningful life for me is when you’re able to make a difference—when you’re able to achieve something,” she continues.
Much has been said about the industry Camille is involved with, but a unique perspective always brings her to the right direction, “Something you wouldn’t imagine is that real estate, retail, and building developments, actually requires a lot of creativity. And in a way, it’s like a work of art. In real estate, you’re able to create beautiful things, but at the same time, they’re functional and livable. And it’s not just limited to inanimate objects like buildings, but even, creating a lifestyle.” And with the incredible life experiences she’s had, the invaluable mentorship from her parents, and the continuing education she gets from the daily grind, Camille continues to live up to the values that have made her into the person that she is today. After all, like Manny, Cynthia, and the rest of her kin, the business of doing the right thing, has always been in her blood.
Art Direction MARC PAGDILAO
Stylist ROKO ARCEO
Makeup AL DE LEON FOR MAC COSMETICS
Hair PAMM MERRERA
Shoot Coordination ALY TIMOG
Shot on location at THE PEAK AT GRAND HYATT MANILA