The savior of Bank Mandiri, Garuda
The savior of Bank Mandiri, Garuda
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The name Robby Djohan seems to be lost in the euphoria of the initial public offering of Bank Mandiri, the largest bank in Southeast Asia.
The launching of his book The art of a turnaround: Kiat-kiat Restrukturisasi (tips on restructuring) at QB Bookstore in Kemang, South Jakarta in June was a modest one.
No media uproar. Only family, close friends and colleagues attended. It could have been mistaken as a family reunion.
Perhaps not many remember that Mandiri was hodgepodge of four ailing state-owned banks -- Bank Bumi Daya, Bank Dagang Negara, Bank Ekspor-Impor Indonesia and Bapindo -- which were crippled by the economic crisis in 1997.
It was Robby who was given the mammoth task of merging the four banks that made up 30 percent of Indonesia's total banking industry with 740 branch offices nationwide, 16 overseas offices and 26,609 employees.
The four banks had become insolvent with non-performing loan (NPL) at 60 percent and losses totaling Rp 103.1 trillion.
Despite it all, Robby managed to restructure the banks within 6 months, 18 months faster than the timeframe set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was overseeing the country's economy and bank restructuring.
Flag-carrier Garuda Airlines is another state-owned enterprise that was restructured by Robby.
Prior to taking a job to create Bank Mandiri, Robby was approached by the then state enterprise minister Tanri Abeng to save Garuda.
In the wake of the economic crisis in 1997, the flag-carrier turned from the second biggest airline in Asia to a bankrupt one with US$1.2 billion of debt.
Doomsayers said the carrier would have to cease operations as the liabilities were way higher than assets.
A seasoned banker who managed to turn tiny, unpopular Bank Niaga into the second largest private bank in the country, Robby saw that it was not the end for Garuda.
Garuda was saved from the axe of liquidation and underwent major restructuring.
"I only wanted to create value and to privatize Garuda. I never had the intention to manage it because I don't know anything about airlines," he said.
In eight months, Robby worked to fix Garuda's cash flow, restructure its debt, stop its losses, revamp its human resources, cut the unprofitable routes, trim the fleet and improve services to passengers.
He relentlessly talked with foreign creditors and airplane companies into restructuring its debt and to cut back on the number of leased planes.
As a result, Garuda managed to get back on track as a leaner, more professional company.
What was his secret for successful turnarounds?
"I didn't have any tips or strategy about restructuring. I just listed the problems and worked them out one by one," Robby said.
"I was actually a lazy person. I just simply made the plan and let my staff get to work on it," Robby chuckled.
Spending his childhood in Medan, North Sumatra, which is full of what Robby called "arrogant youngsters, thuggery and egoism" had contributed to his strong character.
Having a father who was a mid-level employee of the customs office did not allow Robby, who was born in Semarang on Aug. 1, 1938, to live in luxury. His story could make a book of its own.
Robby left his parents to continue his study at a junior high school in Jakarta. Being far away from family, he developed good survival skills and independence.
That goes a long way to explaining his unconventional behavior and what some people may find hard to accept: his straightforward approach to problems.
But it is this quality that made Tanri Abeng to put Robby at the top of the list when he had to restructure Garuda and then Bank Mandiri.
Robby's strong and straightforward leadership as well as his ability to make hard decisions in the nick of time was big help when he had to make many unpopular decisions. For instance, laying off workers.
Robby faced opposition from workers when he had to restructure Garuda and Mandiri. He had to cut almost half of the 26,609 Bank Mandiri's employees and downsize Garuda's workers from 12,981 workers to 7,000.
Robby had the courage to personally tell the protesting employees that those who did not pass a re-selection process would be given the boot and never be welcomed back because they were not part of the solution. "You have no future in this company again because you are part of the problem," Robby said to them.
But his dominating character did not go without a protest.
Peter B. Stok, Director of Bank Niaga said Robby's dominance in the work had made employees too dependent on him.
"He did not do it on purpose. It happened because he took on massive responsibility. Often, Robby would take responsibility for his employee's mistake," Peter said, in Robby's book.
"Honestly, it makes us feel safe under his leadership. But it did not make us grow," he added.
Inside his tough exterior, Robby is a down-to-earth person.
Robby humbly stepped down as Bank Mandiri CEO when then President Abdurahman Wahid pressured him to leave. It did not stop him from grumbling, though, as the decision was more about politics than was professional.
From the beginning, Robby was destined to be a banker. He was the first Indonesian to be taken in the prestigious Citibank Executive Development Program (EDP) in the 1960's.
It was in the EDP that Robby learnt about modern banking and good corporate governance decades before most people started to talk about it here.
Bank Niaga was the beneficiary of his knowledge gained from the program. He moved to the bank in 1976, after working almost 10 years with Citibank.
Robby believes that a company should be run with professionalism and very little or no interference from the state let alone its collusive government officials and their family members.
At every company Robby has led, he paid more attention to training programs than most other companies because he believes employees are a company's most valuable asset.
"Human resources are the most important assets. They are the most significant stakeholders," he remarked
Peter recalled how Robby was always involved in the recruitment process and training in Bank Niaga although it would have been easy for him to let others do the job.
Many people who had once worked under him now lead many other prestigious financial institutions.
These include Director of Bank Bumiputra Winny E. Hassan and former Garuda finance director Emirsyah Sattar.
But there are also people who criticized him for his dominant character, which they claim bordered on authoritarian and that he refused to listen to others' opinions.
Now 64, Robby lives with his wife Nanan Hadiretna, three daughters and a grandson.
Robby now runs his own company and also teaches at the postgraduate program of the University of Indonesia. When asked which is more fun, being a banker or a teacher? He said firmly, "a teacher."
"When I teach, I feel I am in a deep trance. It is so exciting," Robby laughed heartily, a signature of his.