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"I like being on the buy side, I like making money, and making a difference"
Gita Wirjawan |
GITA WIRJAWAN MIGHT well be the Barack Obama of corporate Indonesia.
Bright, polished, accessible and youthful, JPMorgan’s former country head in Jakarta even looks a little like the US Democratic nominee for the White House. Like Obama, who happened to be schooled in Jakarta as a youth, Wirjawan preaches fundamental root-and-branch change to how his country runs and presents itself. Although he has spent much of his life outside Indonesia, Wirjawan is no less Indonesian for the experience. A rare cleanskin in Jakarta’s business hornet’s nest, Wirjawan is a true believer in what Indonesia can be.
Where Obama’s platform is politics, Wirjawan’s is business. He toyed with a political career a few years ago but his bumping up against Indonesia’s rancid political culture left him a little bruised...
