Karen Agustiawan

Karen Galaila Agustiawan (born Galaila Karen Kardinah; 19 October 1958) is an Indonesian who served as the president director and CEO of Indonesia's state oil and gas company Pertamina between 2009 and 2014.[1] In 2011, Forbes named her first on its list of "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen".[2]

Karen Agustiawan
Born
Galaila Karen Kardinah

(1958-10-19) 19 October 1958
Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
NationalityIndonesia
OccupationFormer CEO and president director of Pertamina
Spouse(s)Herman Agustiawan

Early life and career

Agustiawan was born in Bandung, West Java in 1958. She is the daughter of R. Asiah and Dr. Sumiyatno, the first Indonesian envoy to the World Health Organization and former president of the Biofarma pharmaceutical company.[3]

In 1983, she graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology with a degree in Engineering physics. She had initially intended to become a professor, but at the urging of her father she decided to pursue a career in business.[3] After graduating, she took a job at Mobil, working as a quality controller for seismic drilling projects. She later worked as a project leader in the company's Exploration Computing Department. In 1998, she left Mobil for Landmark Concurrent Solusi, the Indonesian branch of Landmark Graphics Corporation. As a result of Landmark's merger with Halliburton, Agustiawan was promoted to project manager of oil and gas accounts in 2002. In 2006, she became the first woman head of Pertamina's upstream division. In February 2009 she was appointed CEO and president director of the company, making her the first female to hold the position.[3][4] During her tenure as CEO she oversaw the development of alternative energy sources such as coal bed methane extraction and established a liquefied natural gas distribution system with Perusahaan Listrik Negara.[2]

In June 2013 she was reappointed by the government for a second five-year term as CEO of Pertamina. She was the first CEO of Pertamina for many years to complete her full term.[5]

In August 2014 it was announced that she had resigned. The minister for state-owned enterprises, Dahlan Iskan, was reported as saying that she had been offered teaching duties at Harvard University in the United States and that she would immediately take up the offer.[6] At Harvard, she subsequently took up a position as an International Council Member within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Corruption issues

In January 2014, lawyer Rudi Alfonso alleged several legislators had threatened to have Karen fired if Pertamina did not give them money. “She has often received threats that she will be fired. But she never responded to such requests," he said. Rudi Rubiandini, the former head of Indonesia's upstream oil-and-gas regulator SKKMigas, had claimed Karen provided gratuities to members of the House of Representatives Commission VII on energy.[7]

In April 2018, it was reported the Attorney General's Office had named Karen a corruption suspect in relation to Pertamina's investment in the Basker Manta Gummy (BMG) block in Australia in 2009. The alleged corruption was said to have caused state losses of Rp 568 billion (about US$40 million).[8] She was sentenced to eight years of prison in June 2019. Karen immediately filed to appeal the verdict.[9] The Supreme Court in 2020 accepted the appeal and overturned her conviction.[10]

Personal life

She is married to Herman Agustiawan, a former scholar at the Indonesian Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) who now works at Indonesia's National Energy Council. They have three children.[3]

References
  1. A brief CV at 'Who is Karen? Successful Pertamina leader, now graft suspect', The Jakarta Post, 4 April 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  2. "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen: Karen Agustiawan". Forbes. March 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  3. "Karen Agustiawan: Challenges male domination of oil and gas industry". Jakarta Post. February 8, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  4. "The ones who made a difference". Jakarta Post. December 27, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  5. Amahl S. Azwar, 'Re-elected CEO to bring Pertamina to "number one"', The Jakarta Post, 7 June 2013. See also, Amahl S. Azwar, 'Karen gets rare extension to lead Pertamina', The Jakarta Post, 6 March 2013.
  6. 'Pertamina CEO resigns to pursue teaching career at Harvard: Dahlan', The Jakarta Post, 18 August 2014.
  7. "Pertamina Was Target for Extortion: Chief". Jakarta Globe. January 27, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  8. Swaragita, Gisela (April 4, 2018). "Ex-Pertamina director, Karen Agustiawan, named corruption suspect". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  9. "Mantan Dirut Pertamina Karen Agustiawan Divonis 8 Tahun Penjara". KOMPAS (in Indonesian). June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  10. Suparman, Fana (March 10, 2020). "Supreme Court Overturns Graft Conviction of Ex-Pertamina President". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
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