Hery Gunardi Admits He Wanted to Be a Banker Since Childhood

Hery Gunardi, the President Director of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, shared that he had aspired to become a banker since childhood. He spoke about this during an education class at the Jogja Financial Festival at the Jogja Expo Center, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, on Saturday (23 May 2026).

“When I was little, my ambitions were twofold. One, to become a banker — indeed a dream since childhood. Two, to become an engineer,” Hery said.

According to him, both professions carry noble values. An engineer or civil engineer can build bridges, roads, and ports. Public facilities like these are useful for society.

“If you’re an engineer, you start by crossing a river with no bridge, you build a bridge, and people’s lives become easier. Those without roads, you build roads, life becomes easier,” he added.

He then argued that being a banker is equally noble. The banker’s duty begins with managing customers’ money. The money a bank manages can then be lent again to debtors or customers.

“A banker is a noble vocation. Safeguarding and managing customers’ money. Then this money is managed and lent to customers,” he said.

Moreover, the banker’s work is especially noble when the customers helped through credit are small customers from MSMEs or even ultramikros.

“Like that, both are noble,” Hery asserted.

In the session, which was attended by many entrepreneurs, he also outlined the early stages of his banking career. Hery revealed that his first job was at Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo). The bank had to close during the 1998 crisis because it merged with Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Exim and Bank BDN to form Bank Mandiri. At that time, he was assigned to the merger team.

“Coincidentally, I came from Bapindo. But perhaps fate, during the 1998-1999 merger, I didn’t understand why my superiors, the directors, assigned me to be part of the merger team,” he explained.

His duties were no joke; he had to assist renowned bankers, such as Robby Djohan and Agus Martowardojo, in forming Bank Mandiri.

“So I was someone who joined the core team, not just a peripheral member, but the core team, helping back then were Mr Robby Djohan and Mr Agus (Martowardojo),” he said.

He also admitted that he was the youngest person on that merger team. This is valuable experience for him.