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Garuda Indonesia appoints new directors, commissioners to repair reputation

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Jakarta Post - January 22, 2020

Riza Roidilla and Rizki Fachriansyah, Jakarta – National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia appointed Irfan Setiaputra as its new president director and former Creative Economy Agency head Triawan Munaf as its new president commissioner during the airline's latest extraordinary general shareholders meeting on Wednesday under the supervision of the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry.

Irfan is to step up as Garuda's new president director to replace I Gusti Ngurah Askhara "Ari" Danadiputra, who was discharged late last year following the discovery of high-end goods smuggled into the country on one of the airline's newest airplanes.

Irfan, who earned his bachelor's degree in information engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1989, previously served as chief executive officer and president director at a number of telecommunications companies, including Sigfox Indonesia in 2019 and PT Industri Telekomunikasi Indonesia (INTI) from 2009 to 2012.

Garuda's board of directors now consists of president director Irfan, deputy director Dony Oskaria, finance director Fuad Rizal (previously Garuda's acting director), operations director Tumpal Manumpak Hutapea, human capital director Aryaperwira Adileksana, technical director Rahmat Hanafi, IT and business development director Ade R. Susardi and commerce and cargo director M. Rizal Pahlevi.

Meanwhile, the current lineup of Garuda commissioners comprises president commissioner Triawan, deputy commissioner Chairal Tanjung, independent commissioners Yenny Wahid and Elisa Lumbantoruan and commissioner Peter Gontha.

"The current structure has been designed to fulfill the needs of Garuda. We expect the new team to get to work immediately. We, the former commissioners and members of the board, believe that the new team will work efficiently to resolve any future 'turbulence' in accordance with established business ethics," said former Garuda president commissioner Sahala Lumban Gaol during the meeting.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said the ministry had striven to appoint the most credible figures to lead the flag carrier.

"I hope Pak Irfan Setiaputra may serve well to change Garuda for the better, in accordance with good corporate governance principles. Based on his years of experience in the field, Pak Triawan Munaf will also be able to impart strategic marketing insights and, hopefully, restore Garuda's reputation, which has seen its fair share of blemishes," Erick said in a statement. He said he also expected Yenny to lead by example as one of the airline's independent commissioners.

The corporate reshuffle came on the heels of a period when the airline's sterling reputation was tarnished by a slew of legal blunders that made headlines throughout the past year.

Garuda faced controversy on multiple fronts last year, culminating in the discovery of high-end goods comprising a disassembled Harley-Davidson motorcycle and Brompton folding bicycles on its new Airbus A330-900 aircraft upon its arrival in the country from France in November last year.

The controversy led to the immediate firing of then-president director Ari Askhara late last year. (rfa)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/22/garuda-indonesia-appoints-new-directors-commissioners-to-repair-reputation.html

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