Name: Domas Karsokas
Title: Investment director, retirement, Octopus Real Estate
What were you doing before you joined Octopus Real Estate: I spent four years at a ‘big four’ accountancy firm where I trained as an accountant and one year at a private equity real estate firm.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Early in my career, passing accountancy exams was a major achievement. My job depended on it and I felt like I had no plan B, which made it a very stressful endeavour. More recently, successfully raising two multi-operator retirement development funds. UK Retirement Living Fund (ReLF), a partnership with Schroders, was the first such fund of its type and it took a lot of hard work and perseverance to get it over the line.
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: Focusing specifically on later living and the integrated retirement communities (IRC) sector: when people think of retirement accommodation, for most part they imagine a rather unpleasant environment where kids send their parents when they get old. It is very inaccurate. IRCs offer far more than just high-quality real estate; they support independent living, provide residents with the opportunity to be part of a community and engage in daily activities, as well as offer them the peace of mind that someone is always there if you need help. All these aspects greatly enhance the quality of people’s lives.
Where I’d like to be in five years’ time career-wise: At Octopus, leading a senior living strategy and becoming a key industry figurehead, promoting the growth of the sector across the UK and continental Europe.
What I do in my downtime: I do a lot of swimming, biking and running.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Ricky Gervais. That would make for a fun dinner party.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: In a dream world, I would be a professional athlete – perhaps a basketball player or a triathlete. Spending time outside and doing sports for a living sounds a like a great deal.
My advice for someone just starting out: For investment roles, focus on financial modelling; it will unlock a lot of opportunities.
My motto/mantra: If it was easy, everyone would do it.
