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Biography
Gita Wirjawan is founding partner of Ikhlas Capital and the chairman of Ancora Group, an Indonesian business group with interests in real estate, natural resources, arts and technology, which he founded in 2007.
His public service has included positions as Indonesia's minister of trade (2011–2014), chairman of its Investment Coordinating Board (2009–2011), and chair of a 159-nation WTO ministerial conference in 2012 that focused on easing global trade barriers. He led his country's national badminton association from 2012 to 2016, when Indonesia won 3 gold medals at the World Championships, four titles at the All England Championships, and one gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
As an investment banker, he has held key appointments at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, where he led many mergers, corporate restructuring, corporate financing and strategic sales involving leading companies in Southeast Asia. His various board roles included service as a commissioner of the state-owned oil giant, Pertamina, and an independent board director of Axiata Group Berhad.
Gita hosts the educational podcast "Endgame", focused on the region to promote Southeast Asia's growth and prosperity. He is a visiting scholar with Stanford's Precourt Institute for Energy, researching Southeast Asia's nation-building directionality. Additionally, he is a member of the Angsana Council, a non-profit group dedicated to boosting the region's businesses and economies, and global advisory firm Macro Advisory Partners.
His degrees are from the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA), Baylor University (MBA), and the University of Texas at Austin (BSc).
Resume
Education
- B.Sc in Accounting, University of Texas at Austin (1988)
- MBA in Business Administration, Baylor University (1989)
- MPA in Public Administration, Harvard Kennedy School (2000)
Career
- Founding Partner & Alternate Chairman of Ikhlas Capital (2018–present)
- Founder and Chairman of Ancora Group (2008–present)
- Chairman of Ancora Foundation
- Host and Executive Producer of ‘Endgame with Gita Wirjawan’, a Podcast by the School of Government and Public Policy Indonesia (2021–present)
- Chairman of the Indonesia Badminton Association (2012–2016)
- Minister of Trade of Indonesia (2011–2014)
- Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM) (2009–2011)
- Senior Country Officer and President Director of JP Morgan Indonesia (2004–2008)
- Vice President in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, Singapore (2000–2004)
- Vice President of Citibank Indonesia (1997—2000)
Academic Roles
- Fisher Family Visiting Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School (2024–present)
- Nonresident Scholar, Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2023–present)
- Visiting Scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), Stanford University (2022–present)
- Senior Fellow, Zbigniew Brzezinski Institute on Geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington D.C. (completed)
Advisory Roles
- Senior Advisor, Macro Advisory Partners
- Member of the International Advisory Board of Chubb
- Member of Advisory Board, Alpha JWC Ventures
- Member of the Council of Global Advisors, Yale School of Management
- Member of Board of Governors, Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan
- Member of International Board of Advisors, University of Texas at Austin
- Advisory Board Chair, School of Government and Public Policy Indonesia
- Member of Advisory Panel, Axiata Group Berhad (completed)
- Independent Commissioner, Traveloka (completed)
- Member of the Indonesia Advisory Board, Institute for Societal Leadership at Singapore Management University (completed)
- Dean’s Leadership Council at the Harvard Kennedy School (completed)
- Member of the Dean’s Leadership Council, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Nanyang Technological University (completed)
Awards and Honors
- Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
- Honorary doctorate in business administration from Naresuan University, Thailand