Jokowi-Kalla administration: Three years of moving forward

These last few years have seen Indonesia experiencing diverse changes. Some of these changes are critical in paving the way for the country’s development in the years to come. As the World Bank recently reported, Indonesia’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB 2018) saw a momentous increase, moving up to 72 from 106 in 2016.

Since sworn in on October 20, 2014, President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, assisted by their Cabinet, have drawn up various measures aimed at improving multiple sectors. Now, with three years on the job, President Joko Widodo and VP Jusuf Kalla are seen to be leading the country in the right direction. ... Read more

Advising resilience and humility to achieve success

Damien Duhamel believes staying resilient and humble are keys to having a strong foothold in an industry.

Damien Duhamel, who has his main office in Singapore but occasionally makes a round of visits to other offices across the region, has been in the consulting industry since he was in an internship program. He hasn’t looked back. “I kind of got the consulting bug and I’ve been in the industry ever since.”

He added that young people should really think twice about what internship program they want to join, as it can make or break their entire career. “An internship program puts you in one direction,” he said and this direction can be a definitive one in terms of career development.

“During my internship I learned that I like to be in this industry, in this case helping companies to enter a certain market,” he said. “I like to do this. Hence, I’ll be good at it. So, I angled my life, education and career toward helping enterprises to enter and to grow in Asia.”

Asked why his focus is on Asia, he said it was because he knew the continent. “An advisory firm needs some focus. Focusing on Asia, which is already quite big, was our way to gain traction and market share fast,” he explained. He wanted the company he co-founded to be perceived as the Asia expert. “Asia is a patchwork of cultures, languages, foods, religions, economies and systems. So, as we focus on those, we can clearly explain to clients what they need to know about the continent.”

Thanks to this focus his company now has 14 offices in the region after only eight years.

Data-driven industry

Talking about the industry in the country and that in other countries in the region, Duhamel admitted the consulting industry is relatively new in Indonesia.

“Ten years ago the industry had a tough battle to educate the market. They didn’t understand what a consulting firm can deliver. They either didn’t know anything or they already had a preconceived idea about the industry,” he recalled.

He added that the market had also been very small. “It was a small and unstructured market, but today the industry has moved from emerging to developing. Most clients know the value of a consultancy firm.” He believes that a consulting company with strong integrity and professionalism will always have its advice asked for.

Duhamel has been working with Fortune 500 companies in accelerating their growth and entering new markets in various locations across Asia.

He reiterated that data do not lie, so when clients come and ask for confirmation of their preconceived ideas or plans they have written down, he always advises based on what the company finds out about the issue.

Growing human capital

When asked about Indonesia, Duhamel said the country had an emerging pool of local talent ready to enter the industry. “They are better educated, better traveled and better connected. There are more Fortune 500 companies in Indonesia today and they help train this talent pool.”

He added that despite the developing quality of the human resources in the industry, there is still big room for improvement. “And this is not an issue the government can solve in a couple of years. We’re talking about a 20-year period.”

Speaking more about human capital, Duhamel explained that he didn’t really do a lot of motivation. He said he believes that recruiting staff who need to be motivated to be excited with the company’s vision is not a good policy. Instead, he wants the staff to be the ones who push him to work better for the company.

“We want people to be self-motivated. What we do is provide training, education and an opportunity to grow, not give motivation,” he asserted.

Duhamel, however, cautioned that a company’s top managers shouldn’t spend all their time in an ivory tower. The top management still needs to know what goes on at the lower level of management. “I encourage innovation. I want people to try out ideas they have and many of these ideas are driven by our Jakarta office,” he added. Thus, he said he believes in putting much trust in the staff. “I think the staff value this trust they are given. They can leverage this trust and grow, or they can make a mess of it. The good ones will leverage this trust and grow because they know trust is a very valuable commodity,” he explained.

He added: “Young people should really stop job-hopping; be resilient in the position you are in. Changing jobs every nine months or so will only ruin your resume. That’s my tip for the young,” he asserted.

Staying humble

Duhamel said his style leaned toward a hands-on type of management. “I believe in the people working in the company. We have a rigid recruitment process and we know about the people we are hiring right from the recruitment process.” That way, he hires only those with strong capabilities and high motivation who know what they want and strive to achieve this.

Duhamel mentioned Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, as a person he admires in the business world. “He is straight talker and is disliked by many, but he’s the kind of person I’d love working with. He was a person who employed sharks, wolves, people who were hungry.”

Among political leaders, Duhamel said Winston Churchill was the one he admires. He said he likes his humility in success and in defeat. “I like that in someone. Humility in our world is a very underappreciated quality, especially among business leaders,” he said while stating that leaders should realize they don’t know everything and that’s where humility is very important.

“Right now, I am doing a master’s degree in urban development and sustainability. There is a great need to make Asian cities more livable. This is part of my passion: Observing the cities and understanding them and helping the cities and the people to live better. I want to be able to say that I did good in my life,” Duhamel said about the passions he has outside of the world of business consulting.  (Gandi Faisal)

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Birth

Paris, France in 1970

career highlights

Co-founder, CEO and managing Asia partner of Solidiance, which is based in Singapore (2006 to present); Asia-Pacific managing director of Dentsu Aegis Network (2000 to 2006).

Education 

Certificate in Vietnamese studies from Hanoi University of Technology (1989-1990); diploma in international business from RMIT University (1993-1994); Bachelor’s degree in business with a major in international trade from Victoria University (1994-1995); MBA in corporate strategy and finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (2003-2005); currently completing a master’s degree in sustainability and environmental management, city/urban community and regional planning at Harvard University (2014-2017).

AT EASE

Electronic dance music 
I like EDM [Electric Dance Music]. Since its early days, while EDM was still an underground music, I was already into it – not only listening to it. I also compose and mix my own electronic dance music. I also enjoyed deejaying, but not anymore.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu
I practice MMA [mixed martial arts], especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I think Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a great sport, but nowadays I can only practice it about twice a week.

Social work
In Singapore I also spend any spare time I have with the Make-a-Wish Foundation. We help children with terminal diseases fulfill their wishes. They may be simple to many of us, but for them it is something they will treasure.

Douglas Cassidy: Spurred by the spirit of the country to help companies expand

Believing in people’s spirit to grow, Douglas Cassidy encourages discussion and a strong sense of purpose in an organization.

Previously stationed in London, Douglas Cassidy was impressed with what he saw when he came to Jakarta. “There is dynamism here that is quite striking, so I was instantly interested,” Cassidy said. And it is the dynamism and energy of the city and its people that present ample opportunity for the consulting industry to grow.

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/douglas-cassidy-spurred-spirit-country-help-companies-expand.html#sthash.si7Jv22C.dpuf

Valery Muyard: Respect and trust steers an organization

eading the company that defines driver safety, Valery Muyard continuously adapts and at the same time puts his trust in the hands of others.

Valery Muyard, president director of Volvo Group Indonesia, has spent most of his professional life in different countries, across three continents, making him and his family open to diverse cultures. His vast experiences and involvement with people from various nations have helped him get to know and understand characters from different backgrounds. He has been with the company for 15 years, and says that Volvo’s core values are the company’s indispensable strength.

“The first core value of Volvo is respect for the individual. The company believes that everybody has the right to their point of view and to discuss ideas. The others are more linked to the way the company performs: safety, quality and environmental care,” he said.

Today in Indonesia, Volvo, one of the biggest heavy vehicle producers in the world, is focusing more on marketing its trucks and other heavy vehicles. But, Muyard stated that the company’s core values applied across the board, so, Volvo heavy vehicles also put safety to the fore, along with quality and care about environmental issues. “This is part of the culture in Sweden, where green technology and products are very important.”

Muyard sees Indonesian customers as very demanding, expecting quality services and very good products. “So it is a very challenging, but promising market,” the 45-year-old French national said about the country he has been posted in since June of this year. - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/21/valery-muyard-respect-and-trust-steers-organization.html#sthash.ax9yYM9L.dpuf

Year-End Getaways

Top Ten Destinations

The time draws near to end the year with special treat to the body and mind at some of the world’s best holiday top spots.

The year 2015 has been a grueling one for many people, so as it is fast coming to its conclusion and you wrap up the year’s projects, it’s time to stretch and recharge at one of the world’s exquisite getaway spots. The list below should help you decide that one place you’ve been itching to explore.

Read more

Boosting multi-language proficiency for educators

Language proficiency is seen as what makes or breaks Indonesian lecturers in the global education and research industry.

Even though Indonesia has made achievements in terms of English writing skills in Southeast Asia, the country still faces problems when it comes to producing scientific papers of international standard.

So far, 5,421 scientific papers from Indonesia have been published in international journals in 2015, according to directorate general of research and development reinforcement, Muhammad Dimyati.

“This exceeds our target of 5,008 published papers,” he said.

This achievement ranks Indonesia fourth in Southeast Asia in terms of number of scientific papers published abroad, with the writing of those papers being dominated by educators and post-graduate students from higher education institutions.

Nevertheless, there is still one nagging problem that prevents more Indonesian academia from producing scientific papers of international standard. - See more

Tomy Sofhian: Staying ahead of the logistics game

Tomy Sofhian, the first Indonesian to lead the Europe-based TNT, is capitalizing on his leadership savvy to scale greater heights in the logistics industry. 

Leading a company that has a parent company hailing from Europe presents its own challenges. 

As the captain of The Netherlands-based logistic company, TNT, which focuses on overseas express services, Tomy has proven that he has the much needed expertise and mettle to lead the company amid stiff competition.

Since his appointment as the head of TNT Express Indonesia, Tomy has led the company in securing several noteworthy achievements.

The 43-year-old said the logistics industry in Indonesia still had very wide legroom. “Most cities that are well-developed are located in the western part of the country. So, to the east, there is still very big potential where we can develop. And as the eastern part of Indonesia continues to develop, the need for good logistics services also grows in importance,” he said about the challenges and opportunities faced by the industry in Indonesia. - Read More

Gery Puraatmadja: FROM THE MIND OF A STORYTELLER

STEPPING INTO A WORLD OF A DIFFERENT NATURE FROM THE ONE HE IS ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH, GERY PURAATMADJA FOUND HIS TRUE CALLING IN A WONDROUS WORLD OF MAKE-BELIEVE.

For Gery Puraatmadja, connecting to people has been one of his biggest passions, and, in the end, his career choice. However, little did he know what life had in store for him when he took a mantle of a missing-in-action birthday party entertainer in one fateful afternoon in the early 1990s.
Read more

Basoeki Abdullah Centennial Exhibition MAESTRO OF ENCHANTMENT

CELEBRATING THE 100TH YEAR OF BASOEKI ABDULLAH, THE CITY COMES ALIVE WITH ENCHANTING SPIRIT OF THE MAESTRO.

Jakarta is no stranger to some of the country’s most important cultural events; as recently the capital hosted a historical exhibition that highlighted the life of one of Indonesia’s great artists, Basoeki Abdullah.

Dubbed “Rayuan: 100 Tahun Basoeki Abdullah”, literally means “Enchantment: the 100^th Year of Basoeki Abdullah, the event lasted from Sept. 21 to 30 and Museum Nasional in Central Jakarta was chosen to be the center of the ten-day long exhibition.

Basoeki Abdullah is one of Indonesia’s prominent modern painters. His name was and is still widely known among art enthusiasts around the world. He was famous for his portraits of the world leaders, including that of Indonesia’s first president, Ir. Soekarno; the first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yu; and Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah.

Read more.

Jalur Rempah (Spice Trail)

DISCOVER THE HISTORY OF THE SPICE TRAIL

Like Silk Road whose implication for the advance of the ancient civilization has wowed the world over, the Spice Trail (Jalur Rempah) has a tremendous significance to the history of the world, and more importantly, to shaping Indonesia.

One of Indonesia’s founding fathers and national leader, H. Agus Salim said in 1952 when responding to a question from Prince Philips of England about the kretek (clove) cigarette he was smoking, “This is, Sir, the reason for which the West traveled and conquered the world.”

...

Suryo Suwignjo: Communication skills for ideal leadership

For president director of Philips Indonesia, , communication is key to ensuring that the company’s message reaches everyone in the organization

believes that despite the textbook concept, communicating the company’s vision to the staff remains an important aspect to ensuring that everyone understands what the company’s vision is. “This is necessary so that they know how the company plans to paint this big picture and how they can contribute to this objective.”

Suryo is the first Indonesian to hold the top position in Philips Indonesia. He is fully aware of the diverse ways people of different generations respond to instructions. According to him, getting everyone in the organization to understand the company’s vision is half of the objective achieved.

 “We need everyone to proactively work to achieve common objectives. There should be a reward-and-punishment system; those, who do their job well, should get a proper reward, while those, who don’t, should receive guidance,” he stated.

For Suryo, a good business leader needs to have good communication skills because a leader must foster open communication and invite dialogue with everyone in the organization. “We are living in a fast-changing world, so a leader must be innovative and adaptive to what the market wants,” he said.

“We have to come up with innovations and breakthroughs to be able to move up to speed with the market. So, a good business leader needs to be innovative,” he added. And he finds this is in line with the company he is leading, Philips Indonesia, which is an innovation-based company.

Another thing he deems important is a cross-checking mechanism related to how the customers perceive the company. “There should be a validation and verification process. We need constant feedback from customers to make sure we are doing the right thing.”

Leading a consumers’ product company, Suryo realizes there must be a way to tap into customer satisfaction levels. “The number of complaints we receive, either about a product or the way the company resolves an issue, can be used to measure whether we have done our job well or not,” he explained.

Under his leadership, Philips Indonesia, a dominating force in the lighting industry in the country, has been putting more focus into its healthcare and lifestyle products, as well as developing the company as one of the leading B2B and B2G solution providers in the country.

Adopting local wisdom 

In performing his task, Suryo associates the leadership theory he knows with the Javanese philosophy he lives by.

He names Ki Hajar Dewantara as a person whose teaching he admires. In particular, he admires Ki Hajar Dewantara’s three central tenets: ing ngarso sung tulodo, ing madyo mangun karso, tut wuri handayani. The Javanese translates to: “be at the front to lead by example”, “stand amidst the others”, and “provide support from the rear”.

“So before Stephen Covey, Ki Hajar Dewantara had already formulated similar leadership principles. He taught us to lead by example, and to be in the heart of the organization’s activity, which is similar to enabling the staff. And the last one is to support others in order for them to grow. A business leader should be able to combine these three roles,” Suryo explained.

“Another thing is that management style should be situational. Different situations require different management approaches, so again we return to being adaptive,” he added.

Asked further about the differences between the management theories he has learned and the business practices he faces daily, Suryo stated that there was a wide gray area in practice as opposed to the clear distinction between what should and what should not be mentioned in theories.

To conform to this discrepancy, he said there was an art to this beyond the scientific approaches revealed in the textbooks. “We have to see it from a different angle and try to optimize what we have available. We have to see which options secure the company’s interests without going against rules and regulations, for example. Here, experience is key,” he said.

Embracing adversaries

Besides Ki Hajar Dewantara, Suryo also mentioned the late Nelson Mandela as a person he looks up to. He admires Nelson Mandela’s character and his willingness to sacrifice his interests for the good of the people.

“He was willing to sacrifice his pride, set aside his grudges and even embrace his mortal enemy for the good of the nation. Not many people can do that,” he explained. Another figure he admires is the current Indonesian president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, whom he sees as having the courage to do things differently and steer the country toward changes. “Maybe some people will misunderstand what he is trying to do, but I believe he is sincere,” Suryo said about Jokowi. He cited an example of when Jokowi visited an ongoing project whose groundbreaking ceremony he had attended at an earlier date. Suryo said this showed how a good leader continued to follow through on a process, and not just show up at the start or at the end of the process.

“Nowadays not many people like to listen but as a leader, we need to be able to listen even though we don’t necessarily agree to what our staff have to say. Listening and agreeing are two different things, but listen we must,” he stated.

“Again, good communication is very important in an organization. Bad communication is one of the potential derailments of an organization, and in Indonesia this can be a big problem, because many of us still don’t like to sit down and have an argumentative discussion, which is related to our non-confrontational culture.”

Suryo believes that an Indonesian has what it takes to lead a multinational company. “I want to reiterate we should never think that we are inferior. It goes back to our limited communication skills that may lead to this inferiority complex.”
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Birth

Semarang, Nov. 30, 1966

Career Highlights

President Director of Philips Indonesia (March 2014-present); President Director of IBM Indonesia (January 2008 – March 2014); Business Unit Executive for IBM ASEAN (2006-2008); Country Manager, System & Technology and Business Partner Organization (2001-2006).

Education 

Holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta.

At Ease

Avid traveler 

I love Bali. I can visit Bali six times a year to take a break from daily routines. I’ve traveled some interesting spots across the archipelago, including Komodo Island and the Wakatobi isles in Southeast Sulawesi. I favor Japan as an international traveling spot. Japan is beautiful and the Japanese are a disciplined people who try to make visitors feel welcomed and at home. Italy and Switzerland are the countries in Europe whose scenery and historical architecture I most like to see and explore. Of course, when I am traveling with my family, my children usually prefer metropolitan areas and shopping hubs, whereas my wife and I prefer nature. So we try to compromise and accommodate both interests.

Doing photography

Photography is another interest of mine. When travelling, usually I face time constraints, so I cannot delve deeply into photography, staying at one spot for hours to wait for that perfect moment when we can capture a truly amazing natural lighting effect. It’s not easy to do that when travelling with the family. But, someday I definitely would like to invest more time in this hobby.

Jazz enthusiast 

I also enjoy listening to music, especially jazz. I sometimes go to jazz festivals, like Java Jazz, or maybe a jazz club in the city.

Arya Seta Wiriadipoera: Creating a homey workplace

Young business leader Arya Seta Wiriadipoera believes in the effectiveness of family management in leading an event organizing company.

High confidence may not be a characteristic privileged only to select few, but to have it coupled with in-depth experience is. Arya Seta Wiriadipoera, vice president of PT Napindo Media Ashatama, seems to be one of those leaders possessing that combination.

Despite being relatively young compared with most leaders in the business world, Arya has a slew of experience and strong self-assurance in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector. The graduate of Paramadina University has, since 2006, been involved in managing events and exhibitions.

The company where Arya now holds a leadership role, Napindo, focuses on organizing international exhibitions and conferences, especially business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions and conferences.

“The business itself is attractive and challenging. The challenge is whether we can successfully organize a quality international-level event in our own backyard. This company is an Indonesian company through and through. With this company, we can show that Indonesians have what it takes to organize world-class exhibitions,” he says.

The competition in the MICE business has never been stiffer than it is right now, but that does not really worry Arya. “I’m very confident because I have a system that I have developed. It is a solid system that helps the company deliver a high quality event. We have a worldwide network, guaranteeing our ability to deliver,” he enthused.

He added that more and more foreign companies came into the country and got involved in exhibition and conference organization. “They may acquire an Indonesian company or co-host an event with a local partner, or others. But that does not worry us. We welcome competition as it is natural. As long as the competition is fair, we are always ready to compete,” he stated.

Managing quality

Arya sees the need for Napindo to continue making breakthroughs, and strengthening the system and quality service.

Asked about his management style, the father-of-two said he always tried to make the company a place where the staff felt at home.

He explained that he was a typically relaxed person and that he didn’t want to emphasize discipline when leading the company.

“To be honest, many of the management theories I learned at school are things that belong in the classrooms only; experience is the most important,” he mused.

“For the company, I practice family management; that’s my philosophy. Our staff here may find the treatment different from that in another company. I want the staff to feel that they are at home.”

Arya added that his door was always open and that the staff could come and see him to talk about anything. “When the staff have the sense of belonging, the company can build a solid team.”

He also encouraged everyone in the company to work well with a reward program and bonuses. “After each successful event, the bonus goes not only to the project team, but to all divisions in the company also. We also have a reward program and social program, supporting our staff who want to go on the umrah [minor haj] pilgrimage for Muslims or holiday pilgrimages for our Christian staff, for example,” he said.

As a leader of a company that delivers services, he believes that quality service is what makes or breaks an enterprise. “I remind my staff that we are in a service industry, so we should put quality service at the front. What I mean by quality here comprises quality visitors, exhibitors, venue and hospitality of the organizer and the host. I believe quality beats quantity or the general size of the event anytime.”

He also believes that commitment and interest can help anyone achieve success. “Interest is important, but without commitment, interest wanes. Some people jump on the bandwagon when they see something that interests them. But the moment the going gets tough, they raise the white flag. There is no commitment there, and with that kind of attitude, they cannot go far.”

Resilience and respect

Arya regards both his parents as his idols, adapting his father’s resilience in times of crisis and learning about thoroughness from his mother. “My parents built the company, Napindo. They both complemented each other, working side-by-side to make the company the way it is today,” he said.

Arya himself fully joined the company in 2009 as a project executive, specializing in overseas marketing.

“My father once said that if I wanted to be successful in organizing an event, don’t hesitate to start from scratch every time. Another thing he said to me was not to be intimidated or feel inferior when facing someone of a high position. Show respect where respect is due, and people will return the respect,” Arya explained.

He added that he had another person he saw as a role model. It is the country’s second president, Soeharto.

“He had the attitude and the ethics. He was cultured and civil, but he was also firm. That’s what I like about him,” he said.

In helming Napindo, Arya tries to combine the qualities of the people he admires and incorporate them into his management skills.

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Career Highlights

Vice president of PT Napindo Media Ashatama (2012 – present); project executive of the company (2009 – 2011).

At Ease

- R/C aficionado 

I always enjoy motorsports and for me, radio control (R/C) has the elements of motorsports, including the world R/C championship. I take this hobby very seriously. So serious in fact that I have had an R/C circuit built. More than that, I also am now one of the suppliers of R/C cars and their spare parts for one of the R/C toy brands from Europe.

- Photography enthusiast

Photography is one activity that I really enjoy. I take photos of various subjects, from landscapes to portraits. My work also often takes me abroad to see how exhibitions are organized, and this provides me with opportunities to find new and exciting subjects to shoot.

Birth

Jakarta, Oct. 17, 1984

Education 

Bachelor’s degree in marketing management from Paramadina University, Jakarta (2009).

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/24/arya-seta-wiriadipoera-creating-a-homey-workplace.html#sthash.0VyRQMb7.dpuf

Courage and Honesty to Deliver Result

Corporate leader Gatot Setyowaluyo is building the quality of human resources with trust and encouragement. 

For Gatot Setyowaluyo, the comfort zone is a big threat to growth. 

“When I first joined this company, I noticed that some of us were in the comfort zone. They saw Taman Impian Jaya Ancol as the only player in town, with no competition. And this could lead to idleness,” recalled the president director of PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol. 

Gatot believes that honesty is of the utmost importance, and involving his staff in the company’s strategic plan helped them to shake off their idleness. 

“At that time I told them directly what sort of state Taman Impian Jaya was in. The growth of our earnings after tax (EAT) was around 10 percent annually, which is not ideal. Then I got them to sit down together and draw up a strategic plan for the company. We have come up with a strategic design to get EAT growth of 27 percent by 2020.” 

He added that doing things well required reliable data, synergy and good cooperation, integrity, creativity and entrepreneurship.

“We have to come up with something new and create new business. That way the corporation will have a new source of earnings. It is a team effort; nobody should be more important than the others.”

Gatot wants Pembangunan Jaya to fully adopt a modern business philosophy and conduct its business as a corporation. He realizes that the Jakarta administration owns a majority share of the company, which therefore has the status of a regional-owned enterprise. Nevertheless, he wants the company he is leading to show the degree of professionalism demanded by today’s highly competitive industry. This includes his efforts to streamline the management and even remove certain posts in the management. 

“The result is that we are now more accountable and can move quicker in our work,” he said of the restructuring.

Pembangunan Jaya manages Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, the biggest recreational park in the country. “Locally we are already strong, with a loyal market. Taman Impian Jaya Ancol is the only recreational and theme park in the country with its own beach. We have plans to continue to develop Ancol as an international tourist destination,” he explained.

Gatot, who turns 51 this month, is also hard at work realizing one of the corporation’s grand projects: Dufan Ocean. The project is slated to be completed in 2018 and is set to cement Dufan’s name as a world-class theme park. “For recreation, we are also developing a new beach 4.5 kilometers long, and a culinary center which won’t be just a support facility, but a destination in itself,” he added.

Pembangunan Jaya is also involved in the Jakarta Bay reclamation project. The megaproject will create dozens of new islands off the coast of Jakarta Bay, and the company holds concessions for four islands. 

“When the Jakarta administration was looking for a new person to lead the company, I was shortlisted. Pak Ahok [Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama] who was deputy governor at the time, asked me what I thought of the corporation’s stock value. I responded by saying that the corporate stock was undervalued,” Gatot recalled. 

He argued that despite being in the property industry, the corporation may have problems attracting investment, as it is seen as having little potential because of its limited land reserves. But with the reclamation project, investors will see the great potential the corporation has. Now, after less than three years, the corporation’s stock has almost tripled in value. 

Quality human resources to realize the corporation’s vision are another priority for the graduate of Gajah Mada University, who said that the people in the corporation, as the operators, must be prepared to achieve any target. 

“Everyone has a stake in the corporation, and I ask my staff to be responsible for what they have been entrusted to do,” he said of the importance of teamwork. “But there are things you cannot just delegate to your subordinates, for example; this means you really need to master your field.”

After relocating to Jakarta from his hometown, Yogyakarta, Gatot joined a company for a short while. He then moved to Jaya Real Property, a subsidiary of Pembangunan Jaya, and developed his career there. 

“It was a big decision for me to move to this company as my previous company had offered to pay for my study in France.” 

Asked about his influences, Gatot said he liked to read the works of a number of business figures. However, he picked Ciputra as the person he most looked up to in the industry, feting him as a visionary.

Ciputra founded PT Pembangunan Jaya in 1961.

“I say I want to be like Pak Ciputra. I still believe in the corporate values Pembangunan Jaya holds, those of honesty, integrity and professionalism,” he said of the corporation where he has built his career for close to a quarter of a century. 

“Pak Ciputra once advised me that if I had a concept, I should put it into practice. If you keep it to yourself, you are already lost. But if you apply it, you can either achieve what you intended to achieve or lose. But if you don’t try it, you’ll never know,” he added. And that is why it is always necessary to have the courage to make decisions, which some people find difficult to do.

As an important and busy man, Gatot admitted he had to limit the amount of time he spent on his hobbies. He prefers to spend his spare time with his youngest child. Of his three children, the oldest is now a doctor and the second is studying to be a dentist. “I have cut down on playing golf to be with my youngest son,” he said.  (Gandi Faisal)

_________________

At Ease

Engineer at heart
I like tinkering with cars, and luckily so does my youngest son. Sometimes on a Sunday, I take him with me to the garage.

Art enthusiast
I’d like to learn to paint, actually. I find art fascinating. My wife has already taken up painting, and we have some of her works displayed at home.

Spirit of traveling
I also would like to see more of Indonesia. Many places around the country are underappreciated despite their potential for growth. I once went to Sumbawa Besar. That place is really amazing, which is surprising, because it has no international-class facilities.

Place & Date of birth 
Yogyakarta, April 23, 1964

Experience
President director of PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol since May 2013. Previously, he played various leadership roles at PT Jaya Real Property (1988-2013), from being a division head at Bintaro Project all the way up to becoming the company’s director.

Education
Bachelor’s degree in architecture, Gadjah Mada University, 1987.

- See more at: http://m.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/11/the-courage-and-honesty-deliver-results.html#sthash.bMGNKTlF.dpuf

Err...is my blog missing? Dead? Erased?

"For the past four centuries, science has been victim of the delusion that all that is necessary to pursue truth is the 'scientific method'. The history of science reveals that this view is false. Scientists squabble as bitterly--and as frequently--as theologians, and are just as prone to use personal authority to suppress their opponents. Does this mean that scientific truth is unattainable? Obviously not. Newton was probably the most neurotic and paranoid of all great scientists; he was so suspicious of others that he refused to publish his discoveries lest they be stolen."

- Colin Wilson (Mysteries)