Gearing up for the future with Damien
“With globalisation and digitalisation, real estate is fast-evolving and I want to be a changemaker here at CapitaLand.”
“Why real estate? Everyone needs a roof over their heads; and working at CapitaLand is a rare opportunity for a fresh graduate like myself to learn about the entire real estate life cycle.”
With a disarming smile and warm hello, Damien is a friendly face with a charming disposition, the perfect personality for an early morning interview. Unfazed by the bright lights, cameras and crew fussing around him, Damien delivered his responses on-camera in just one take – done like a professional.
In between his filming segments, he hops out of frame and sits down for a chat to tell us more about his journey from NUS Real Estate to the CapitaLand Graduate Development Programme, his work experience and newfound hobbies since COVID-19.
“If you wish to explore your interests first, the CapitaLand Graduate Development Programme gives you great learning opportunities.”
After his graduation from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Damien enrolled in the NUS Real Estate programme as he found it to be an interesting field of study since “everyone needs a roof over their heads”. Guided by his interest, Damien subsequently applied to the CapitaLand Graduate Development Programme which offers fresh graduates, like himself, the opportunity to learn from the best-in-class across various real estate asset classes from business parks to retail and workspace, lodging and more.
Focusing on the Retail Track was a conscious decision by Damien as he was keen to learn more about the various business functions within the retail business. And learn he did – since he joined the CapitaLand family in July 2020 – Damien has been attached to the marketing, leasing, portfolio and asset management as well as strategic planning departments.
With rotations across different roles every quarter, he found himself gaining great exposure in a fast-paced environment in CapitaLand.
“I’m glad I chose CapitaLand – I’ve gained great exposure, made meaningful connections and the company is fully committed to developing us.”
As the pandemic kept us locked in at home, Damien became a circuit baker, spending his free time kneading dough. Graduating from sourdough to pineapple tarts (perfect for the Lunar New Year), he found baking to be a therapeutic activity which also benefitted his family members greatly since they are lovers of freshly baked bread. To enjoy some time in the great outdoors and socialise with friends, Damien also picked up rollerblading – we assume this also burns off some calories from testing his own bakes.
As we reach the end of the interview, we asked Damien – why CapitaLand? Without missing a beat, he shared that he’s been very surprised by the culture of the company. Professional, nice and kind colleagues; decisive management and a fully-committed company which invests time and creates opportunities for its staff. We bid him goodbye as Damien was whizzed off to his next filming location, but we are positive that we will be seeing more of his projects come to fruition as we catch him around the office soon.
We are featuring exciting young talents from CapitaLand's Graduate Development Programme this January!
Stay tuned for new stories and videos!