The acting CEO of PT Pertamina (Persero) Nicke Widyawati has been mentioned as the likely definitive CEO of Pertamina. Several of our sources in the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) have said that Nicke is indeed a strong candidate for the position, and that her name is already on the list of candidates to be considered by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
Our source in the BUMN ministry said that Nicke has the backing of Minister Rini Soemarno. The source also said that President Jokowi also preferred Nicke. The other names in the list, the source said, did not have Jokowi convinced that they’re the right person for the job.
The source said that Sofyan Baasir, the CEO of PLN, was for a moment thought to be a strong candidate because he has the backing of Vice President Jusuf Kalla. “There’s an effort to move Sofyan to Pertamina because PLN is embroilled in the PLTU Riau corruption case. But the President does not approve. Minister Rini did consider Pak Sofyan, but the PLTU Riau graft case is holding his name back,” the source explained.
On July 2018, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) questioned Sofyan Baasir as a witness in the PLTU Riau I graft case. The development of said case has now led to the announcement of former Minister of Social Affairs Idrus Marham as a graft suspect.
Wanda Puspanegoro, a special staffer to the Minister of BUMN, told us that Nicke Widyawati is indeed a candidate for the position of CEO of Pertamina, and that the Ministry has not yet made her the CEO because “it’s still in process” per the answer of Minister Rini, Wianda explained.
Nicke graduated from the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). She began her carrier in the banking sector. In 1988, she received an offer to work in Bank Duta, Bandung. By 1991, upon her graduation, she left the banking world and moved into construction. Nicky entered PT Rekayasa Industri (Rekin) in 1991. In Rekin, she worked on the field. One of the projects she worked on was the development of Pupuk Sriwijaya 1B in Palembang, South Sumatra. Later on, she was made Director of PT Mega Eltra—a BUMN in the field of electricity and technical equipment. From there she moved to PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). In PLN, she worked as Strategic Procurement Director.
By Ferdi Hasiman
