Anindya Novyan Bakrie

Anindya Novyan Bakrie (born 10 November 1974), is an Indonesian businessman and investor who is the CEO and President of Bakrie & Brothers, the successor to the Bakrie Group, one of the oldest conglomerates in Indonesia that is now transitioning towards the renewable sector. Bakrie is the founder and CEO of the Visi Media Asia (VIVA) Group, which owns television stations with news and sports lineups, namely tvOne, entertainment lineups, namely ANTV, and the news portal VIVA.co.id. He is also the founder of the Bakrie Center Foundation, a platform for his philanthropic activities. The group supplied the first 52 electric buses for public transport in Jakarta. Its electric vehicle arm VKTR Teknologi Mobilitas partnered with China’s BYD in 2018 and later made a series of procurement of electric buses that are today plying the Indonesian capital’s roads. Bakrie is on track to pivot his business group towards sustainable and digital businesses. One of the group’s business legacies is in coal mining and under Bakrie’s leadership the business group is now transitioning towards the renewable sector. Past profits accumulated by the Bakrie group from coal mining are now being reinvested into green projects and other efforts towards energy transition. Bakrie currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was appointed by former Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a Director of the APEC Business Advisory Council. He is also the co-owner of English Championship club Oxford United, alongside Erick Thohir.

Early life and education
Anindya Bakrie was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 10 November 1974, the son of Aburizal Bakrie and Tatty Murnitriati. He is the eldest grandson of Achmad Bakrie, who founded Bakrie Group in 1942, now known as Bakrie & Brothers. Anindya Bakrie married Firdani Saugi and has three children.

He attended Triguna Elementary School and graduated in 1986 before continuing his secondary education at the all-boys Catholic school Pangudi Luhur, both located in Jakarta. He then studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, a high school in the United States.

Motivated by his interest in finance and technology, as well as his desire to follow in his father and grandfather's footsteps in business, Bakrie initially intended to major in economics in college. However, he earned a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University, Illinois, in 1996.

He later obtained a Master's degree from the Global Management Immersion Experience program at Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2001. He then sought to bridge students to be able to pursue education at Stanford Business School through the Bakrie Center Foundation.

Career
Bakrie began his career as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers, Wall Street, in the United States in 1996. In 1997, his father, Aburizal Bakrie, asked him to return to Indonesia following the 1998 riots. After receiving his M.B.A from Stanford, he then served as Deputy to Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of Bakrie & Brothers.

Bakrie has been involved in various business ventures throughout his career. He has served as a Director of PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk since 2007 and as a Director of PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations Tbk since 2008. He also served as a Director of PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk from 2005 to 2007. In addition to his business ventures, he is also known for his acquisition of English football club Oxford United in 2022 alongside Minister of State Owned Enterprises and Head of the Indonesian Football Association, Erick Thohir.

Media
Bakrie has been involved in the media industry since he joined Cakrawala Andalas Televisi (ANTV) in Indonesia. In 2002, he sent a debt restructuring proposal to more than 200 creditors and persuaded them to restructure their debt into equity. This reduced the debt to zero, even though it meant cutting Bakrie's stake from 60% to 21%. Bakrie also made content adjustments, changing the mix from individual general programming to focus on family-friendly shows such as quiz programs, children's shows, and football matches.

In 2007, he acquired a second TV station, Lativi Media Karya, from businessman and former Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief. The station was renamed TV One and restructured to focus on news for middle-class viewers. Together, ANTV and TVOne control about 15.6% of TV advertising expenditure in Indonesia. In 2011, Bakrie collaborated with Erick Thohir to acquire both TV stations, plus the online news portal Vivanews. In Visi Media Asia, or the Viva group, Bakrie serves as the chairman and Erick Thohir is the president director.

In 2014, the Bakrie Global Group invested in Series C in Path, a personal social network with active users in Indonesia reaching 4 million people. However, the Path social networking site was eventually closed on 18 October 2018.

Telecommunications
Bakrie served as the President Director and CEO of PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk from December 2003 to January 2012. Bakrie Telecom is a publicly listed company in Indonesia that provides CDMA-based wireless telecommunications services, including mobile phones, fixed-line phones, international direct dialing, long-distance calling, internet access, and value-added services. During his tenure, the company grew to become the largest public CDMA operator in Indonesia, with over 11 million subscribers in 2011. However, the company faced financial difficulties and was eventually acquired by PT Smartfren Telecom in 2014.

Electric vehicles
Bakrie Group’s VKTR, which builds electric buses and trucks, listed its initial shares on Indonesia Stock Exchange on 19 June 2023. The Jakarta-based auto assembler is supported by China’s BYD Automobile, a producer of the lithium iron phosphate battery. Bakrie is the chief commissioner of VKTR. The company raised 875 billion rupiah ($58.4 million) in the initial public offering (IPO) on 19 June 2023.

In March 2022, VKTR supplied 30 electric buses to the Jakarta city administration to be deployed for public transport. Another 22 electric buses were added by VKTR in December 2022, raising the electric bus fleet of the Jakarta capital city to a total of 52. These 52 buses, for 14 months from March 2022, were used by 10 million riders and 5.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were avoided, equivalent to restoring 250,000 trees a year.

Football club ownership
In September 2022, along with Erick Thohir, Bakrie bought a 51% share in English football club Oxford United, then in EFL League One.

Philanthropy
In addition to his business ventures, Bakrie is also involved in various social and philanthropic activities. He helps bridge collaboration between the Nusantara Capital City (IKN), which is committed to developing net zero emissions capital city, and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. The Stanford Doerr and the Indonesian government agreed to seek opportunities for collaboration on various projects that are still in line with the Stanford scholarship program and Indonesia's sustainable development goals. These projects may include, among others: low-carbon economic development, financing the transition to a more sustainable society, meeting pressing food priorities, and building a new, sustainable capital city, Nusantara.