Category :Inspiring Women 2014

Date : Monday, March 10, 2014 - 08:52:32 Read : 6634

Ahmad Zamroni / Forbes

Indonesia

Ahmad Zamroni / Forbes

Indonesia

Business
Noni Purnomo. Age: 45, married, 3 children
President Director, Blue Bird Group Holding
Nonis elevation to president director of Blue Bird Group
Holding makes her one of the most prominent women leaders
in the country today. Her role is to take a more strategic and
longterm view of the all the businesses in the group, and how
to grow them, as well as prepare for the opening up of the
firm to outside investors.

Finance
Felia Salim. Age: 56
Vice President Director, PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI)
Since her appointment as vice president director at BNI in
2008, Felia Salim has helped bring new innovations to the
bank as a way to achieve its long-term goal to become a
regional player. The key is shifting BNIs focus towards
products better tailored to the latest consumer needs, rather
than simply putting out many new products which dont
always succeed.

Entrepreneur
Melinda Tedja. Married, 4 children
Owner, Pakuwon Group
With her husband Alexander Tedja, Melinda Tedja started the
Pakuwon group in 1982 and grew it to become the king of
Surabaya shopping centers. Its malls, including the largest
one in East Java, attracts 20 million visitors a year. The group
Courtesy of Tatler Indonesia
successfully expanded to Jakarta, among the most recent is
Kota Kasablanka and the Gandaria City superblock, which is
a mix of a mall, offices and apartments.

Ahmad Zamroni / Forbes

Indonesia

Philanthropist
Veronica Colondam. Age: 42, married, 3 children
Founder and CEO, Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB)
Veronica had helped over 20,000 families in the last three
years and at the same time put nearly 25,000 kids through
school through a microfinance scheme linked to an education
program she designed. She started her foundation, YCAB in
1999, and the foundation initially worked on promoting
healthy lifestyles to youth such as the prevention of risky

behavior including drug abuse and HIV/AIDS before

expanding to other education related programs.

Politician
Nafsiah Mboi. Age: 74, married, 3 children
Minister of Health
Nafsiah has more than 40 years of experience as a civil
servant. During her tenure as health minister from June 2012,
she has included health warnings on cigarette packages and
focused on fighting HIV/AIDS. She has also chaired the
Aditia Noviansyah / Tempo
board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria (GF-ATM) since June 2013. As such she is
overseeing a global fund with a total budget of $23 billion.
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Environment
Yuyun Ismawati. Age: 49, married, 2 children
Senior Advisor and Co-founder, Balifokus
Yuyun Ismawati is in a war against mercury. The campaign arises out of a life-long interest to
environmentalism. She graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology in environmental
engineering in 1990. In 2000, she founded an NGO, the Balifokus Foundation, focusing on
environmental health issues. For her work on environmentalism, Yuyun was recognized as an
Ashoka Fellow in 2002. She was also awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009.

Ijar Karim / Tempo

Regional Leader
Tri Rismaharini. Age: 52, married, 2 children
Mayor of Surabaya
Tri Rismaharini has been successfully transforming Surabaya. Under Risma, as she is usually
called, Surabaya created 11 parks with playgrounds, she fired 40 city officials for being
corrupt and raised the education budget by 36% to Rp 5.6 trillion. She has made some
controversial decisions such as closing the Dolly prostitute area and reporting the

management of Surabayas zoo of death to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Now she faces the same demand to resign because of the political pressure.

Aditia Noviansyah / Tempo

Creative Talent
Mira Lesmana. Age: 49, married, 2 children
Producer, Miles Films
Mira is one of the countrys most successful film producers. Her movie Laskar Pelangi, is the
most watched local movie in theaters since 2008, with over 4.6 million tickets sold. Miras
latest movie, Sokola Rimba, was screened in November. An action movie, Pendekar Tongkat
Emas, should be launched in cinemas this month.

Toru Hanai / Reuters

Global Leader
Sri Mulyani. Age: 51, married, 3 children
Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, World Bank
Sri Mulyanis star continues to rise at the World Bank. In September last year she was
appointed as the banks chief operating officer (COO), after being a managing director since
May 2010, a role she still holds in tandem with her new position. Her move to the World
Bank was controversial since she resigned as finance minister during an investigation of the
Bank Century bailout case. She was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission
(KPK) last year as a witness in that case.

Ahmad Zamroni / Forbes Indonesia

Business
Eka Sari Lorena. Age: 45, married, 2 children
Managing Director, PT Eka Sari Lorena
Eka was elected as a chairwoman of National Road Transport Operators Association
(Organda) in 2010 and her term lasts to 2015. Ekas victory made her as the first woman who
lead the organization in its 52 years of existence. On the business side, Eka holds titles in a
number of her family business, known as the Lorena group. She is vice president director of
PT Lorena Karina, managing director of PT Eka Sari Lorena (ESL Express) and managing
director of PT Eka Sari Lorena Logistics (ESL Logistics).
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As one of the biggest emerging economies in the world, Indonesia has always been a
country full of opportunities for entrepreneurs with the right game plan. The largest
economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the influential G-20, the island archipelago
was once even recognised as the most pro-entrepreneur country in the world by BBC. It is
undeniable that a large-scale entrepreneurship in various industries drives a countrys
economy, increasing monetary transactions while also opening up new job opportunities.
Once upon a time limited to only men, businesses have since seen a rapid surge in
participation by women as well, with the emergence of various bold startups and ambitious
projects. In this issue, Top 10 of Asia shares its random list of the Top 10 Most Inspiring
Young Female Entrepreneurs of Indonesia.
Hanifa Ambadar

Hanifa Ambadar
The co-founder and CEO of Female Daily Network, Hanifa Ambadar is a leading figure in
the digital media industry thanks to her extensive grasp of consumer behaviour. The MBA
graduate from Maryville University in Missouri forayed into the online realm during her final
year of studies when she began FashioneseDaily.com, a beauty and fashion blog. The success
of website quickly led the way to Female Daily Network in 2009, which is currently one of
the countrys largest online communities for women with almost two million unique visitors
per month. Her vision for the site is to be the company that best understands women,
empower women and connect women to each other. The entrepreneur has received the
prestigious Indonesia Digital Women Award in 2013.
Cynthia Tenggara

Cynthia Tenggara
An idea that was seeded during Cynthia Tenggaras time working for another company
quickly grew to be Berrykitchen.com, one of Indonesias biggest online caterers that she
started. A communications graduate from Pelita Harapan University, her stint in Groupon
Indonesia opened her eyes to the potential of food commerce in the country. What then began
as a 3-person enterprise catering for 50, now has a workforce of some 110 people catering for
more than 1,400 every day. Besides catering the company,under the helm of Cynthia,has also
diversified into other business models such as ready to eat products that can be delivered
anytime and the newly launched ready to cook section. Due to the great potential of
Cynthias enterprise, Berrykitchen.com has been invested by various enterprises such as
Angin Gepi, East Ventures and Sovereigns Capital.
Shieny Aprilia

Shieny Aprilia
Agate Level Up, the largest Indonesian serious game company was founded by Shieny
Aprilia, a serious gamer since her time in kindergarten. With the mission to contribute to
world happiness via games, the entrepreneur has served more than 35 corporate and
organisations by providing game-based solution for their training, education, and marketing.
Some of Shienys ingenious ideas presented through Agate Level Up include improving the
recruitment process in companies by providing mobile game to assess the candidates
personality, helping the government educate kids about hygiene and improving therapy for
eating disorder patients. She believes that our younger generations ought to have happier
experiences while learning, so they can learn much better and give their best to the world.
Ria Ariyanie

Ria Ariyanie
This entrepreneur may have had numerous roles throughout her career, including in sales and
marketing, advertising, event organising, media relations and promotions but her true passion
is public relations where she has been engaged in for over 16 years. Using her vast

knowledge in the area, Ria co-founded TalkLink, a digital public relations firm which got an
early start during the onset of the online PR agency boom in 2010. Currently TalkLink stands
as a leader among the few PR agencies that offer comprehensive and competitive forms of
communications with an ethnological measurement and analytical approach. Ria is also one
of the partners of Girls in Tech Indonesia with fellow entrepreneur Aulia Halimatussadiah.
Selphie Bong

Selphie Bong
A young design prodigy, Bandar Lampung-born Selphie Bong had started with a fashion
week show right after her graduation from the Raffles Design Institute in Singapore. She then
expanded her expertise through physical stores, the first one being in Jakarta with consecutive
ones in Bali. Touted the Indonesian Christian Dior, Selphie was the only Indonesian fashion
designer out of 15 who were picked to design haute couture looks for the United Nations Year
of Biodersity 2010 event in Geneva among other international icons such as Diane von
Furstenberg and Reem Alasadi, while she represented Indonesia in Eco Chic Green to
Greener programmes in Hong Kong, Milan, Paris, Singapore and Shanghai.
Veronika Linardi

Veronika Linardi
The co-founder of an online platform which helps jobseekers make informed decisions
regarding their employment, Veronika empowers professionals by providing them with a
comprehensive workplace transparency ranging from salary to other career-related
information through her website Qerja. The platform also helps Indonesias working
population to accomplish their career goals while taking into consideration their experience
and knowledge. Besides Qerja, the entrepreneur has also founded Linardi Associates, an
executive recruitment agency which makes the connection between demand and supply for
manpower in various industries. Before she founded Qerja and Linardi Associates, Veronika
has worked for various multinational entities such as CNN, Bozell Worldwide and Price
Waterhouse Coopers in USA, and Charoen Pokphand in Indonesia.
Merry Riana

Merry Riana
A best-selling author, motivational speaker and millionaire entrepreneur, Merry Riana is one
of the most renowned female entrepreneurs in Indonesia. She is well-known for getting out of
her education debt and amassing more than SGD1, 000, 000 in less than four years since her
graduation from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore through her business in
sales. Inspired by her overcoming of her own debt situation, she started Merry Riana
Organization, a training and consultancy firm that focuses on inspiring and helping young
people achieve financial freedom and success at a young age. As a multiple-award winner
and a business icon, Merry continues to inspire many through her seminars, books, radio and
her own TV show. Her life story has been made into a movie, which became a box-office
success in Indonesia.
Dian Pelangi

Dian Pelangi
Dian is the multiple award-winning, leading designer of eponymous modest fashion house,
Dian Pelangi in Indonesia. A graduate of the prestigious ESMOD design school located in
Paris, she quickly took the fashion world by storm with her widely-celebrated collection
showcased at the Jakarta Fashion Week 2010. This native of Palembang has since broadened
her credentials by presenting vibrant collections of reinterpreted Muslim attire in Paris, New
York, Washington DC, London and Abu Dhabi. Earlier in 2015, she took part in the New
York Couture Fashion Week with two other Indonesian designers and was also invited to take
part in a Designer in Residence initiative at London College of Fashion. She is also featured
in Londons The Business of Fashion (BOF) magazines list of 500 People Shaping the
Global Fashion Industry in 2015, along with David Beckham and Kanye West.
Anita Feng
A self-made entrepreneur who rose in the corporate world with sheer grit and talent, Anita
Feng is currently one of Indonesias foremost professional public speakers, specialising in
marketing strategies, business motivation, new product development and professional soft
skills. Her talent for management and business saw a rapid advancement in career as she went
from a management trainee to Head of Marketing in just seven years before the
commencement of her own enterprise. With a natural knack for public speaking, the Prasetiya
Mulya Business School graduate rapidly became a sought-after motivator and author. Besides
public speaking, Anita is also the founder of the uber-successful health and wellness centre,
Royal Garden Spa.
Donna Lesmana
The founder of a one-of-a-kind online lingerie store called Lolalola, Donna Lesmana was
inspired to be a leading player of the undergarment e-commerce industry when she realised
the lack of a proper website for women to purchase intimate clothing to their liking without
visiting a physical store. Armed with her previous experience of selling sportswear and other
outdoor equipment on another site called SukaOutdoor, Donna started Lolalola in August
2014 and the online store has since proven to be a hit. The businesswomans ingenious
entrepreneurial skills have even captured the attention of renowned investor Ardent Capital

and e-commerce logistics platform aCommerce to further expand the site beyond Indonesia
and across Asia.
Issue 10/2016