Karen Agustiawan
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Karen Galaila Agustiawan (born Galaila Karen Kardinah; 19 October 1958) is an Indonesian who served as the president director and CEO of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
's state oil and gas company
Pertamina PT Pertamina (Persero), formerly abbreviated from ''Perusahaan Pertambangan Minyak dan Gas Bumi Negara'' (lit. 'State Oil and Natural Gas Mining Company'), is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was cr ...
between 2009 and 2014. In 2011, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' named her first on its list of "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen".


Early life and career

Agustiawan was born on 19 October 1958. She is the daughter of Dr. Sumiyatno, the first Indonesian envoy to the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
and former president of the Biofarma pharmaceutical company. In 1983, she graduated from the
Bandung Institute of Technology The Bandung Institute of Technology ( id, Institut Teknologi Bandung, abbreviated as ITB) is a national research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. Since its establishment in 1920, ITB has been consistently recognized as Indonesia's premie ...
with a degree in
Engineering physics Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...
. She had initially intended to become a
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
, but at the urging of her father she decided to pursue a career in business. After graduating, she took a job at
Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...
, 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 Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...
, Agustiawan was promoted to the project manager of oil and gas accounts in 2002. In 2006, she became the first woman head of
Pertamina PT Pertamina (Persero), formerly abbreviated from ''Perusahaan Pertambangan Minyak dan Gas Bumi Negara'' (lit. 'State Oil and Natural Gas Mining Company'), is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was cr ...
's
upstream Upstream may refer to: * Upstream (bioprocess) * ''Upstream'' (film), a 1927 film by John Ford * Upstream (networking) * ''Upstream'' (newspaper), a newspaper covering the oil and gas industry * Upstream (petroleum industry) * Upstream (software ...
division. In February 2009 she was appointed
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
and president director of the company, making her the first female to hold the position. During her tenure as CEO she oversaw the development of alternative energy sources such as
coal bed methane extraction Coalbed methane extraction (CBM extraction) is a method for extracting methane from a coal deposit. Coal bed methane (CBM) is one of the factors restricting safe production of coal in underground coal mines. It is also a form of high-quality energ ...
and established a
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
distribution system with
Perusahaan Listrik Negara PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) ( 'State Electricity Company', abbreviated as PLN) is an Indonesian government-owned corporation which has a monopoly on electric power distribution in Indonesia and generates the majority of the country' ...
. 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. In August 2014 it was announced that she had resigned. The minister for state-owned enterprises,
Dahlan Iskan Dahlan Iskan (born August 17, 1951 in Magetan) is the former Chief executive officer, CEO of Indonesian newspaper publisher, Jawa Pos, Jawa Pos Group. He was the CEO of Indonesia's State Electricity Company, (Perusahaan Listrik Negara, PLN) from De ...
, was reported as saying that she had been offered teaching duties at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in the United States and that she would immediately take up the offer. At Harvard, she subsequently took up a position as an
International Council Member
within the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...
.


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 House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
Commission VII on energy. 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 2009. The alleged corruption was said to have caused state losses of Rp 568 billion (about US$40 million). She was sentenced to eight years of prison in June 2019. Karen immediately filed to appeal the verdict. The
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
in 2020 accepted the appeal and overturned her conviction. She was detained again in september 2023 allegedly being involved for ongoing graft investigation related to the company's procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over the past decade.


Personal life

She is married to Herman Agustiawan, who works at Indonesia's National Energy Council. They have three children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agustiawan, Karen Indonesian business executives Indonesian chief executives Bandung Institute of Technology alumni 1958 births Indonesian women in business Living people Women business executives 21st-century Indonesian businesspeople 21st-century Indonesian businesswomen