PERSONALBIO
Born in a family which has been farming chicken for over three decades on the suburbs of Jakarta, Gerry has been passionate about grass-roots businesses. He believes that the key to solving the rising inequality in rapidly-growing developing countries is to nurture this segment of the economy and to promote inclusion.
Realising that there is no easy way to suppress inequality, Gerry was determined to gain experiences overseas to broaden his horizon. He was fortunate enough to receive a fully-covered scholarship to pursue an operations management degree in City University of Hong Kong. Reflecting on the difficulties faced by his family in transporting eggs due to extensive infrastructural damage, he is determined to solve Asia's (especially Indonesia) logistical issues to achieve a better economic integration for the grass-roots businesses. Moreover, the knowledge from his degree would allow him to investigate the common inefficiencies plaguing these businesses and eventually improve their productivity.
Gerry understands that a complex problem requires a multifaceted solution. Hence, he has sought to develop a polymathic knowledge for a holistic evaluation. He then takes biology as a minor in CityU and studies comparative politics and the Asia Pacific economies in the Australian National University for a semester exchange. Furthermore, to learn the dynamics of grass-roots society, he taught in Thailand for 1.5 months and volunteered with City Youth Empowerment Project.
Gerry also regards the importance of a non-academic development to channel the academic theories into practice. In CityU, he took up diverse roles such as the Vice President in AIESEC, the Finance Manager for both Model United Nations Society and Indonesian Night Committee, and more recently a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honour Society. In ANU, he was a core team member for RESULTS Australia. Moreover, he completed several internships with a feed mill factory, a social enterprise, and an IT startup to further polish his professional skills.
Gerry has his sights set on being a part of Asia's world leadership in the 21st century, particularly Indonesia's growing influence in the region. He hopes that he could contribute to crafting solutions of Asia's biggest question: promotion of grass-roots economic interconnectivity to capitalise on the demographic dividend and finally break the 'resource curse'. He acknowledges the disruption of technology and believes the digital economy will become a critical propeller in the upcoming decades to solve the conundrum.
