Man behind infrastructure summit

Man behind infrastructure summit

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Gathering nearly 700 investors, domestic and foreign, to attend
an international event within just two months in the capital of a
country, which lost 110,000 of its citizens and was badly
devastated by the earthquake and tsunami on Dec. 26, is
definitely a tough task.

But John A. Prasetio managed to pull it off, owing to his
experience in multinational firms.

In early December, he was still meeting with Jakarta-based
foreign chambers of commerce to get inputs for the lineup of
speakers and panelists for the first Indonesian Infrastructure
Summit on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 at Shangri-La Hotel, Central
Jakarta.

Two months later, the cochairman of the summit managed to pull
it off.

John is among the rare businessmen in the country who
understand the implication of trade liberalization, notably in
the context of World Trade Organization negotiations and the
growing trend of bilateral preferential trade agreements.

He skillfully led the December meeting and occasionally
brought up sensitive issues without offending anyone in the
meeting of businessmen from various nations.

Leading a meeting of business leaders of various nationalities
comes naturally for John, a former managing partner of Arthur
Andersen for the Asia Pacific overseeing the consulting firm's
operations in 13 countries including Japan, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand.

"Maybe I am among the few Indonesians who are lucky enough to
have international exposure as a leader," he told The Jakarta
Post recently.

Born in the Central Java capital of Semarang, and now in his
mid 50s, John started his impressive career in the consulting
world when he was still an accountancy student at the University
of Indonesia. Later, he became a lecturer and pursued further
studies in the United States at the Wharton School of Business
and in Stanford University.

The 1980 Harvard Business School graduate is the Indonesian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) vice chairman for
international economic cooperation, thus a regular source for
reporters seeking the private sector's comments and stance on
international trade issues.

He worked in several public accountant firms before eventually
establishing his own Prasetio, Utomo & Co., which now partners
with Ernst & Young Indonesia, the same year he returned from
Harvard.

His firm later partnered with global consulting firm Arthur
Andersen, where he eventually became the first Asian to lead
Andersen in the Asia Pacific region.

John would often hold meetings with his managing partners
through videoconference from his base in Tokyo and Singapore at
that time.

Having to oversee such global operations, he built strong
relations with top executives of multinational corporations and
global institutions.

That was another reason why Kadin entrusted John with the task
of chairing the summit.

The event itself is expected to raise up to US$74 billion over
the next five year period for various infrastructure projects,
focusing on sectors such as power and energy, toll roads,
transportation, water and sanitation, ports and airports and
telecommunications.

The government will offer 91 infrastructure projects worth at
least $22 billion to local and foreign investors in the summit.

Despite all the challenges he has faced in organizing the
summit, critics still said the preparation was too short and that
the summit should be postponed for another two to three months.
His critics also believed that January was a bad time for such a
summit to attract global investors.

But the devastating tsunami changed everything, including the
summit. With foreign investors booked to fill only half of the
limited 500 seats available by late December, the number of
participants surged to 1,257 -- dominated by foreigners -- but
only 678 would be allowed to attend the by-invitation-only event.

John said the idea of the summit emerged when Kadin presented
the private sector's revitalization road map to President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono a week after he was sworn in.

The President responded by stating that infrastructure
development was a key priority of his economic program to
accelerate Indonesia's economic growth and reduce poverty.

Susilo then suggested Kadin help the government to organize
the summit.

During the interview, John's mobile phone kept ringing with
many callers asking if he could provide additional seats for
latecomers.

Although he was very communicative in talking about
infrastructure and other economic issues, when asked about his
personal life he immediately pulled back.

"What's the point of knowing about my life?" he said smiling,
and went on further to explain more about his career.

The only personal side of himself he was ready to expose was
his hobby of collecting paintings, including those of the late
icon Affandi.

"I can stay in an art gallery for hours. I don't know why I
enjoy them so much. But looking at them makes me happy," he said.

The event may run well but the real success will be seen in
the future. Nevertheless, for John, his work for the summit is
his way of serving the country.

"I have gained a lot from this country, this is one way for me
to show my gratitude," he said.