An ambition to land an impressive finance leadership role has paid off for one of the earliest ACCA members to qualify in Indonesia.
Yohannes Nugraha was appointed in January 2024 as group FD at Gunung Sewu Group (GSG), an influential homegrown corporate operating a diverse network of businesses and employing more than 30,000.
Coming from a background in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Yohannes had built an enviable career working for companies such as Unilever and sports retailer MAP Active.
‘Our five-year plan is not just a numbers exercise, but examines our ambition for the business’
‘FMCG is a dynamic, fast-paced industry; it’s very competitive and full of innovation, which resonates with me,’ Yohannes says. ‘On a personal level, I saw a lot of opportunity working with global brands and having a global career.’
Diverse portfolio
He had imagined continuing his career trajectory in that sector, when the high-level opening at GSG arose; he was persuaded to pivot and embark on a new journey working for a diversified group. ‘This is a very interesting conglomerate, still owned by the family who founded the company in 1953 as a commodities trading business,’ Yohannes explains. ‘The founder believes that Indonesia is a market that can be developed involving ecosystems that are sustainable, while aiming to lead by example.’
This is evident across the company’s portfolio, which today incorporates foods, insurance, property and manufacturing, among others.
‘Our integrated plantation is the largest exporter of canned pineapple globally and is a true example of the zero-waste and circular economy,’ Yohannes says. ‘The pineapple waste becomes cattle feed and other by-products. The cattle waste is turned into fertiliser and bio-energy, and goes back into the plantation.
‘We are on the journey of exploring and experimenting with generative AI’
‘In the property business, our office building project is LEED Platinum certified, while our apartment and landed-house projects have received numerous sustainability awards.’
Entrepreneurial culture
As group FD, Yohannes is involved in the strategic decision-making of the group. ‘We talk a lot about our five-year plan,’ he says. ‘This is not just a numbers exercise, but examines our intended ambition for the business in terms of competitive advantage, what value we are offering to consumers and shareholders, whether we are investing in the right initiatives that will bring value in the future, and so on.’
CV
2022
Group finance director, Gunung Sewu Group
2020
CFO, Indonesia/Papua New Guinea, The Kraft Heinz Company
2019
VP, finance, MAP Active
2018
Head of internal audit SEAA, Unilever
Yohannes’s role also involves driving digital transformation of the business, which is a personal interest of his. ‘Technology is no longer just an infrastructure; it should be a competitive advantage going forward,’ he says. ‘We are on the journey of exploring and experimenting with generative AI in various parts of the business.’
Another aspect of GSG that appealed to Yohannes is the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, the late Om Goh Soei Kie, that lives on today under the leadership of his children.
‘We encourage our people to take risks and come up with ideas for new business ventures’
‘The culture of the company is quite unique in that we encourage our people to take risks and come up with ideas for new business ventures,’ Yohannes explains, adding that any member of the workforce or shareholder may pitch to the C-suite. One successful business ideation was the production of cold-pressed juices, a first for Indonesia at the time; incubated in-house, GSG’s brand Re.juve has grown to be the market leader.
Giving back
Yohannes was already advanced in his career, as corporate controller at Unilever, when he realised that a basic accounting qualification would not be enough to achieve the career heights to which he aspired. ‘That’s when I started my ACCA journey, in 2016,’ he says. ‘It was a prestigious qualification, with comprehensive modules necessary for a senior financial leader to have.’
‘I believe that to create a better world, you cannot do it by yourself’
He found the course challenging to complete after hours. ‘Not everybody has the commitment to the time required for study, but I saw and believed the value ACCA qualification offers,’ he says.
Despite his rigorous schedule, Yohannes actively gives back. As chairman of ACCA Indonesia’s member panel he is a regular contributor to association events; in May he was a panel speaker at a seminar run by ACCA and the Institute of Indonesia Chartered Accountants, and contributed to last year’s ACCA Asia Pacific thought leadership forum. Among his commitments outside of the association, Yohannes was a keynote speaker at CXOCIETY’s Future CFO Indonesia conference in July.
Gunung Sewu Group
1953
Established as a trading company in 1953
20+
Number of businesses today
4
Number of countries where the group operates
60+
Number of countries exported to
30,000
Total number of employees
‘I believe that to create a better world, you cannot do it by yourself,’ he says. ‘ACCA’s vision is to lead the global accountancy profession, and this requires a lot of knowledge sharing. I’m very happy to do that.
‘One’s productive life is very short; there’s only so much you can do in your lifetime,’ he continues. ‘But if my sharing can help people to grow to their full potential and become a leader in future, that would give meaning to what I am doing.’
As for what drives him personally, he says: ‘I believe that if you’re given the talent and opportunity, it’s your responsibility to make the best use of it.’
Yohannes carries on learning outside of work, his hobbies of diving, photography and cooking each teaching him something. ‘Diving lets me appreciate nature, while through the tiny lens of a camera you see the world differently,’ he says. ‘Learning to cook puts me in the shoes of a consumer, to better understand what matters to them.
‘My principle is nothing is wasted. The most random thing you learn will help you in a certain way or form.’
