About eight years ago, Franz Lagania visited Singapore for a vacation. As fate would have it, there was a job vacancy at Frasers Property Singapore. Today, Franz has been with us for over seven years and is now the Building Manager of Changi City Point.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Franz graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Mapúa Institute of Technology in the Philippines.
Franz has always been interested in the property industry. Back in high school and college, he was a student council president and was part of the Ayala Young Leaders Congress, a student leadership summit designed to build confidence, hone leadership skills and nurture commitment, which landed him his first property gig.
He worked his way up the career ladder, handling lifestyle centres in the Philippines starting out as a building engineer, before being promoted to a building manager and moving to Singapore.
“I stayed in Singapore as a tourist for two months to get settled down before deciding that I was comfortable enough to pursue a career here. Causeway Point was hiring a Building Executive at that time, and I was there for about 6 years, before transferring to Changi City Point,” said Franz.
Beyond building management
A normal day for Franz involves a lot of mall inspection, emails and constant communication with his team.
“Technology has made communication a whole lot easier for everyone, especially in my line of work! There are about 26 staff in the Changi City Point team, with 20 people in the operations department and the rest from the marketing and leasing team. Having multiple group chats on WhatsApp enables me to communicate with the different departments efficiently.”
A change of scenery
While it was not completely smooth-sailing at the start, Franz has now fully settled down in Singapore, with his wife and his four-year-old daughter.
“While there are only some minor cultural differences between the Philippines and Singapore, there were still some things I had to adapt to. After a few months of living here, I was coping well at work, learning the culture and language, and of course, loving the food.”
According to Franz, it took resilience and versatility to get to where he is today.
“There will always be incidents at work which may throw you off guard but as a building manager, it is important to learn, move forward and bounce back from such situations. Versatility means being able to adapt to different circumstances and individuals. This also means being informed and staying up to date with technology and other necessary statutory requirements of the job.”
Franz was recently certified as a Green Mark Facilities Manager which equips him with the knowledge and skills to improve and implement sustainable measures and technologies in an existing building.
Vibrant life outside of work
Franz and his family on holiday at Bali, Indonesia
Like many people, Franz appreciates a good cup of gourmet coffee. He usually enjoys them at Blvd or Hans at Changi City Point to kick start his day.
When he isn’t busy ensuring the smooth running of the mall, Franz spends his time playing the drums as part of his church band.
“I used to be quite the athlete back in the day. I played volleyball, bowling and other sports back home. Now, time with the family is the top priority. Being a member of the church band also takes up some of my time, with the practice sessions.
Franz and his family on holiday at Bali, Indonesia
My wife enjoys baking, so from time to time, I will help her to shop for ingredients, and share photos of the finished product on my social media.”
While Singapore might not have been Franz’s hometown, he has definitely made his mark in Frasers Property Singapore.