ON BECOMING HER OWN TYCOON
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 mid-income 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 self-sustaining
