Indonesia has no shortage of experts sharing ideas online. The harder question is: whose perspective offers something genuinely worth paying attention to?
The Top 10 Voices in Indonesia to Follow in 2026 brings together professionals whose insights are shaped by what they have actually built, led, transformed, or studied. Across AI, business strategy, energy, finance, education, consumer markets, and international collaboration, each offers a distinct lens on the changes shaping Indonesia.
From deploying AI at enterprise scale to examining the realities of the energy transition and closing the gap between education and employment, these voices give readers more than commentary. They bring experience that adds context to the conversations that matter in 2026.
Highlights
Sandhika Galih
Co-Founder & Chief Academic Officer, WPU Course
Sandhika Galih brings an educator’s perspective to the fast-changing world of software development and AI. A lecturer at Universitas Pasundan since 2008, he has taught web programming, internet technologies, and artificial intelligence while developing learning materials that help students build practical technical skills.
His impact extends beyond the classroom. Galih founded the WPU YouTube channel in 2015 and now serves as Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer of WPU Course. Notably, Google recognised him as a Google Developer Expert in Web & UI in 2023.
What makes his LinkedIn perspective distinctive is how he translates new tools and technical concepts into practical learning for developers. Rather than discussing technology only as an industry trend, he connects it to the skills students and early-career developers need to remain relevant as technology evolves.
Dr. Indrawan Nugroho
Co-Founder & CEO, Corporate Innovation Asia
Dr. Indrawan Nugroho brings more than 25 years of experience in strategy, leadership, consulting, and entrepreneurship to the challenge of making corporate innovation deliver results. As Co-Founder and CEO of Corporate Innovation Asia, he helps organisations translate strategic ambitions into innovation initiatives designed to improve business performance.
His credibility also spans leadership development and knowledge-building. Nugroho co-founded Kubik Leadership in 1999, has authored five books, including Kubik Leadership and Rise Above the Crowd, and received the World Game Award from Erickson International for an impactful social innovation programme.
Moreover, he shares strategy and innovation insights with more than one million YouTube subscribers. On LinkedIn, his distinctive strength is turning real-world companies and business developments into strategic case studies, giving leaders practical lessons on why transformation succeeds, stalls, or requires a different approach.
Dr. Rudolf Tjandra
Director in Charge, Kalbe Nutritionals & Consumer Health
Rudolf Tjandra brings three decades of experience across nutrition, healthcare, FMCG, and consumer health to his perspectives on business transformation. Today, he serves as Director in Charge of Kalbe Nutritionals, Bintang Toedjoe, and Saka Farma Lab, alongside President Commissioner responsibilities across these businesses.
His expertise also extends from the boardroom into thought leadership. Tjandra has authored Going East and Navigating ASEAN, published by Palgrave Macmillan Singapore, drawing on his interest in how local culture, consumer behaviour, and on-the-ground realities shape organisations. This intersection is also what distinguishes his LinkedIn perspective.
Rather than approaching consumer strategy and transformation through business frameworks alone, he examines the human factors behind performance — from empathy and culture to organisational confidence and judgement. As a result, his writing offers an operator’s perspective on why strategies that appear sound on paper may play out differently in real markets.
Ira Noviarti
Independent Board Commissioner at Telkom Indonesia | Former CEO of Unilever Indonesia
Ira Noviarti brings nearly three decades of FMCG experience, including four years as CEO and President Director of Unilever Indonesia. In that role, she oversaw more than US$2.3 billion in revenue, 15 categories, and over 6,000 employees while leading transformation across product portfolio, route to market, and its end-to-end operations.
Her track record also includes accelerating the growth and profit performance of Southeast Asia Food Solutions business across 9 markets, nearly tripling the size of Unilever Indonesia’s ice cream business within four years and doubling its skin care business within three.
Today, Noviarti serves as Independent Board Commissioner of Telkom Indonesia and Strategic Advisor to Asia investors. Notably, this progression from operating businesses to overseeing corporate strategy gives her LinkedIn perspective a distinctive dimension.
Her posts connect leadership, consumer behaviour, transformation, and digital infrastructure with lessons from managing large-scale businesses and, now, examining strategy, risk, and governance from the boardroom.
Putra Adhiguna
Managing Director, Energy Shift Institute
Putra Adhiguna examines the energy transition where climate ambition meets economic and political reality. An engineer by training with a master’s in public policy from the London School of Economics, he now leads the Energy Shift Institute and advises public and private entities on energy economics and policy.
His perspective is grounded in both industry and policy experience. Putra has led large teams in Fortune 500 organisations and previously served on the board of a US$400 million project in the world’s largest single geothermal development. He also serves on the International Energy Agency’s Technology & Innovation Advisory Board.
On LinkedIn, his distinctive value comes from unpacking the trade-offs behind Southeast Asia’s green transition. Through topics including energy security, coal transition, critical minerals, subsidies, power systems, and financing. He examines not just what should change, but what blocks it — and where the room to move potentially lies.
Ongki Kurniawan
Co-Founder & CEO, Skor Technologies
Ongki Kurniawan brings more than two decades of experience across telecommunications, messaging, payments, and fintech to a persistent challenge: expanding financial access to Indonesians who remain difficult for conventional systems to assess. Today, he addresses that gap as Co-Founder and CEO of Skor Technologies, building credit infrastructure designed to help people establish a financial reputation.
His perspective is grounded in experience across major technology platforms. Kurniawan previously served as Managing Director of LINE Indonesia, Managing Director of GrabPay Indonesia, Executive Director of Grab Indonesia, and Country Head of Stripe Indonesia.
What distinguishes his LinkedIn commentary, however, is who he puts at the centre of financial inclusion. Through data and policy developments, he examines credit access, financial literacy, regulation, and pensions from the perspective of often-underserved groups, particularly young people, women, and Indonesians over 50.
Irzan Raditya
CEO & Co-Founder, Kata.ai
Irzan Raditya brings a builder’s perspective to Indonesia’s rapidly evolving AI landscape. As CEO and Co-Founder of Kata.ai since 2015, he has helped develop multilingual NLP and generative AI solutions for enterprises across banking, fintech, telecommunications, FMCG, and government.
The scale of that work provides tangible evidence of his experience. Kata.ai serves more than 300 enterprise and government customers, reaches 70 million active users annually, and has processed more than three billion conversations. Moreover, Raditya served on the Steering Committee for Indonesia’s National AI Strategy from 2019 to 2021.
What distinguishes his LinkedIn perspective is its grounding in building AI businesses and deploying the technology in Indonesia. His posts connect enterprise AI adoption, cloud technology, and the regional AI ecosystem with firsthand founder experience, offering a practical view of how Indonesia can turn AI opportunities into real products and businesses.
Alin Veronika
CEO & Founder, Avenew Group
Alin Veronika brings more than two decades of experience across project management, risk management, consulting, training, and education. As Founder and CEO of Avenew Group, she works on project management consultancy, PMO development, risk management, and professional talent development.
Her contribution to the profession extends well beyond consulting. Veronika served as General Secretary of the PMI Indonesia Chapter from 2013 to 2016 and President from 2016 to 2023. Notably, she led the editorial team for the Bahasa Indonesia editions of the PMBOK Guide Sixth and Seventh Editions, has authored project management books since 2010, and has taught at the University of Indonesia since 2005.
This combination distinguishes her LinkedIn perspective: she connects professional standards and academic research with the realities of implementing PMOs, managing project risk, and developing practitioners inside organisations.
Grace Sabandar
CEO, Global Business Services
Grace Sabandar is the CEO of Global Business Services, a leadership role she has held for more than two decades, overseeing operations spanning business consultancy, trade, exhibitions, media, and sportainment.
Beyond her corporate executive work, she is widely recognized for her contributions to soft power diplomacy, international networking, and global empowerment. She serves as the Global Advisor for G100 Sports Empowerment & Championships, Founder of the Global Sportainment Network, and Initiator of the Indonesia Football Diplomacy Initiative. Her extensive track record also includes founding the Ambassador & CEO Club, G20 Spirit, and Asia Africa Spirit. Furthermore, she is a frequent international speaker at global forums, sharing her expertise across sports innovation, blockchain technology, women’s leadership, and business transformation.
What distinguishes her LinkedIn perspective is this unique cross-sector lens. Rather than treating diplomacy, technology, sport, and business as separate topics, she explores how partnerships across these domains can drive meaningful innovation, international collaboration, and social impact.
Cana Paranita
Founder, Level Up
Cana Paranita approaches career readiness from a practical challenge: why capable students can still struggle to translate education into employment. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between what young people learn in formal education and the unwritten skills, attitudes, and expectations they encounter in the workplace.
As Founder of Level Up, Paranita has worked to bridge education and industry through mentoring, internships, company visits, and career-readiness programmes. Her broader work in talent development includes managing Telkom’s Digistar programme, which attracted more than 27,000 applicants within two years, and training more than 300 employees across areas including communication, pitching, innovation, agile mindset, and workplace culture. Her expertise has also been recognised multiple times within Telkom Group, earning Best Expert recognition across three consecutive years from 2024 to 2026.
On LinkedIn, she turns these firsthand experiences into practical perspectives on professional attitude, workplace realities, communication, and the unwritten rules young people need to navigate the workplace.
Why These Voices Matter for Indonesia’s Next Chapter
What makes these Top 10 Voices in Indonesia to Follow in 2026 worth watching is not that they all see Indonesia’s future the same way. It is precisely that they do not.
Their work spans AI, energy, financial inclusion, consumer markets, project execution, talent development, and international collaboration. Yet beneath these different fields is a common thread: each brings firsthand experience to conversations that are often reduced to headlines and trends.
Following these voices offers more than another feed of opinions. It offers a closer look at how change is being built, where ambitious ideas meet real-world constraints, and what leaders are learning along the way.
As Indonesia navigates rapid technological change, shifting markets, workforce challenges, and deeper regional engagement, the perspectives that matter most may not be the loudest. They are the ones grounded in experience, willing to examine complexity, and able to turn what they have learned into insight others can use.
Editorial Note:
This feature is independently curated by the NewInAsia editorial team and is not a paid or sponsored listing. We research professionals using publicly available information, primarily LinkedIn, and conduct an editorial review based on factors such as expertise, consistency of public contributions, engagement quality, professional credibility, and relevance to the featured topic. This is a curated editorial feature, not a definitive ranking.
Highlights
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