In 2007, when a major customer introduced a new generation of printer, a new type of paper meeting more stringent technical requirements were needed. The customer visited our Kerinci paper mill and a cross-department team gathered to recaliberate the paper machine to meet the new requirements. It look four tries—and much tension and lost production time—but in the end, the entire team pulled through and a new paper product was born. More importantly, the customer was delighted.

As a young graduate in 2011, I joined RGE as a management associate and was posted to Asian Agri. My formal training started at the Asian Agri Buantan Training Centre, where I joined all the other Indonesian Graduate Trainees for the estate training program. The regimented life reminded me of national service in Singapore, but also underscored to me that a disciplined life is required for success in this trade. Subsequently, I was rotated through Asian Agri’s estate and HR departments, as well as Apical’s CPO and export departments, where I witnessed how Asian Agri enabled communities to grow with the company. In recent years I’ve been exposed to risk management and trading functions where even though I’m a junior, I’m encouraged to give my views and learn from my seniors.