BCA (Bank Central Asia), founded in 1995 has been in operation since 1957 and is Asia’s biggest lender by value with a market capitalisation of $24.5 million. Jahja Setiatmadja is the bank’s president director: a family man who takes great stock in team play and collaboration.

One of the major reasons for the success of the bank in recent years has been their focus on the local market: the growing economy and the growing prosperity of Indonesia, and the bank’s focus on this is what Setiatmadja attributes the success of the bank to. When he took over as the chief financial officer in 1999, BCA was still reeling from the effects of the Asian financial crisis, at the height of which the bank had to be nationalised. During Setiatmadja’s early years too, and during the internet’s infancy, BCA gained a reputation for innovation and artful exploitation of the latest technology. Their ATM network was huge and aggressively expansive; and this attitude has stood them in good stead in the years to come. BCA got ahead of the game in a field now seen as essential for all banks: something born out of neccessity in an island nation where rural populations often cannot visit a branch.

Financial health was restored following the Asian crash through heavy pruning of the bank’s loan portfolio - which saw loan to deposit ratios fall by 82% - and the first public offering came again in 2000. Today it is fully privatised once more, and Setiatmadja’s fortunes have risen with those of the bank: in 2005, following successful negotiation of choppy waters he was promoted to vice president and assumed his current role of president director in 2011, working today to blend BCA’s diverse offerings into a single, profitable whole.

William Sabandar is the president director of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT),  a rapid transit system currently under construction in Jakarta. It is estimated that over four million residents from nearby Jabodetabek commute to and from the city each working day, bringing with it great strain on the public and road based transport networks to and within the city.

Jakarta MRT is a rail based, over and underground transport system expected to stretch across over 108 kilometres: including 21.7 km from Lebak Bulus to Kampung Bandan and 87 km from Balaraja to Cikarang. Sabandar leads and manages the project, having previously been COO for the United Nations REDD+ environmental protection programme and a senior advisor in the ministry of energy and mineral resources, focussed on accelerating the uptake of renewable energy in Indonesia. Now turning that environmental focus to transport infrastructure; MRT aims to increase the 56% of commuter trips currently taken through public transport, in the face of a 10% year on year increase in the number of cars using Jakarta’s roads.

An architect who became mayor of Bandung following his landslide election victory in 2013 with 45% of the popular vote, his focus on environmental and design issues has filtered through into his governmental work, making for a modern, forward thinking Bandung city.

Educated at the Institut Teknologi Bandung before The University of California, Berkeley, Emil then founded Urbane, an architectural firm which has won a number of awards including the BCI Asia Awards (for three consecutive years in 2008, 2009 and 2010) and the BCI Green Award in 2009 for the Bottle House design project (made from recycled bottles). His focus as mayor has been to unlock the potential of his home city - host to over 50 universities, what may be lacking in natural resources is more than made up for in human capital. Technology, efficiency and the new economy is at the heart of everything: Bandung Technopolis is seen as Indonesia’s answer to Silicon Valley, the Bandung Smart City Council which oversees and implements mould breaking ideas and the thousands of wifi hotspots installed around the city are all emblematic of his continuing work as mayor.

Starting her career as a Civil Servant in the East Javan capital she now governs, Risma learnt the ropes and more than paid her dues over 20 years, during which she performed as the Head of Surabaya’s Program Controlling Division and later the Head of the Landscape and Cleanliness Department.

Her bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a master’s degree in Urban Development Management have given her mayorship a strong focus on physical infrastructure and lived environment development. When first elected Mayor in 2010, Surabaya was a city neglected by successive governments and described as a concrete dump. There are now eleven major theme parks in Surabaya, many of which also provide Wi-Fi access, libraries, and sports facilities. Other open spaces such as cemeteries now double as water absorption space - meaning the city has not had any major flooding for three years. Through her work, Risma has won a number of awards, including the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City Award 2012 the Adipura Kencana environmental award, as well as being named one of the 10 most inspiring women 2013 by Forbes Indonesia and one of the world’s 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine.

Before 2008 when he became the ninth Governor of the island of Bali, Indonesia’s tourist hub, Made Mangku Pastika was the Chief of Bali’s Provincial Police and Chairman of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency. He served as chief investigator into the 2002 and 2005 terrorist attacks in Bali.

Indeed he has a long record of distinguished service in the Balinese police force, where he began his career in 1974 upon graduation from the AKABRI (Akademi Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia) Police Academy. His vast experience serving the people of Bali, through posts in the Property Crimes Unit, Banking Crime Investigation Unit, and police chief of West Tambora, West Jakarta, East Nusa Tenggara and Irian Jaya mean he has a true grasp on the unique character of Indonesia’s hindu majority island. Equally, his experience leading Bali through its difficult recent past, investigating not one but two terrorist attacks garnered him local and national acclaim, culminating in his ascension to the position of governor in 2008. In this position, Bali has become the first province in Indonesia to have universal health care, the SABAGITA bus system has eased overcrowding in South Bali, and he displays an ongoing commitment to what he calls what he calls “e-government”, modernisation through the computerisation of government departments.

Born in Bogor on May 3, 1959, he started his career in 1986 in Indosat as General Manager of Business Development having studied statistics at at Padjadjaran University followed by a management masters degree at PPM School of Management.

Rudiantara developed a wide skill base which has stood him in good stead in a fast moving and wide ranging role such as his: before becoming a minister he held executive positions at telecoms companies Telkomsel, and Excelcommindo (Now XL Axiata) whilst gaining an overview of state operations and wider infrastructural issues as vice president director at state cement maker Semen Gresik. In 2006 Rudiantara was appointed by the government of then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as vice president director at the state-utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), where he was tasked with assisting with funding the government’s fast track programme, building 10,000 megawatts of power plants. As minister, his aim is to position ICT as an enabler of economic development and social transformation, looking to communications infrastructure as the driver of prosperity over the next decade. Within the next five years he hopes to see an Indonesia with the best ICT infrastructure in the ASEAN region: the Palapa Ring project, connecting all major cities throughout the country through broadband access, be it through sub-sea fibre optic or inland fibre optic cables. Rural areas he looks to serve through a dedicated High-Throughput Satellite designed purely for internet. His work has been instrumental in the launch of Apple’s R&D centre in Jakarta, however central to everything is the wellbeing of the Indonesian people - social media platform Telegram was closed down after repeated failures to address the radicalism which plagued parts of Indonesia a decade ago: a commitment to technology safe, open, and working for the people of Indonesia.