Meet Our Experts

Alex Kurniawan joined the company in 2017 and currently leads our consumer products division in Indonesia. Products under his care include household names such as Filma, Kunci Mas, Pristine, and Groovy. Alex has grown the business, increased market share and improved overall profitability. He plans further expansions, strengthen brand equity in the company’s products and establish a robust distribution network with a rigorous channel focus.

Alex has 20 years of experience in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector with companies such as Mead Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, Loreal, and PepsiCo. Before joining GAR, Alex was a Marketing Director in PT Kino Indonesia.

He has a master’s degree in Management from Prasetiya Mulya Business School, Indonesia.

“Besides providing products of the highest quality, what we’re trying to do is give consumers the most value – products that they need, supplied conveniently. It might sound like a tall order, but I believe where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Götz Martin has been with GAR since 2015, leading the company’s sustainability initiatives on the ground. His team focuses on areas such as 1) Forest and Peat conservation, rehabilitation and management, 2) Community Engagement with a focus on participative action and alternative livelihoods, 3) Responsible Sourcing with a focus on supplier engagement and supply chain transformation.

He has 12 years of experience in forest/land use and sustainability-related topics and has spent 11 years in South East Asia. As a leading subject matter expert in his field, Götz sits on various committees: High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA) Executive Committee, High Conservation Value Resource Network (HCVRN) Management Committee, RSPO Peatland Working Group, and the RSPO Biodiversity and High Conservation Value (BHCV) Working Group.

In his previous role at McKinsey & Company, Götz was one of the key authors of the McKinsey Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve, as well as the Indonesian Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve – the first document published by an Indonesian Government agency (DNPI) which recognized the role of peatlands as a source of carbon emissions. He was also the lead author of the East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan Low Carbon Economic Growth Strategy.

Götz has a PhD and Master Degree in Forestry Science, and a Bachelor Degree in Environmental Management, all from the Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany.

“Growing up in a small village in Germany, nature in general and forests, in particular, have always been my favourite place to be. Realising soon during studies on what a downhill trajectory Earth was on, I pursued a career in sustainability. Governments and leading private sectors can turn the wheel and transform the way we all live, while still allowing emerging countries to pursue a growth path to lift millions of their people from poverty.”

Haskarlianus Pasang has been with GAR since 2012 and specialises in translating sustainability policies and standards into practical actions in our operations. His current areas of focus include sustainable certification of food, feed and fuel feedstocks, biodiversity and ecosystem services, waste management, and circular economy.

He has 13 years of experience in the area of sustainability and is currently Co-Chair of the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Technical Committee in South East Asia.

In his previous role as Country Manager of US company AES AgriVerde, Haskar introduced renewable energy and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) through methane capture and composting for the palm oil industry in Indonesia.

Haskar has a PhD and Master in Environmental Engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia, Graduate Business Administration Programme at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia, USA, and a Bachelor Degree in Conservation and Management of Natural Resources, IPB University, Indonesia. He recently completed the Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies Programme at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK.

“Sustainability is a journey. It is a journey to create a responsible business while maintaining a delicate balance between economic, social, and environmental priorities to achieve long-term, sustainable development. The only way to get there is to work together with our people, our customers, our suppliers, and the industry.”

Jean-Pierre Caliman heads SMARTRI, the upstream research and development arm of GAR focused on improving agronomic practices.

With 38 years of experience in oil palm cultivation, Jean-Pierre’s expertise extends from soil fertility to the mineral nutrition of oil palms. He is involved in studies related to the agro-physiology of oil palms, aimed at building a mechanistic model of how oil palms function – from light capture and photosynthesis to the allocation of the carbohydrates and the yield.

He started his career in West Africa, Ivory Coast in 1983 with CIRAD, a research organisation set up by the French government dedicated to tropical agriculture, as a research agronomist on oil palm. From 1991 onwards, Jean-Pierre was posted by CIRAD to several places in Indonesia, starting at the IOPRI (the National Research Centre in Indonesia). He was finally posted to PT SMART in 1996 as a scientific advisor and expert in oil palm fertiliser management, to build collaboration between CIRAD and the private sector.

His engagement to the development of ecological intensification of oil palm cultivation has been recognised in Science magazine, which is edited by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of two highest ranking scientific magazines in the world.

He has contributed to the creation of ICOPE, the International Conference on Oil Palm and the Environment, and has been the Chairman of ICOPE since 2010.

Jean-Pierre has a PhD in Soil Sciences from the University of Burgundy, France. His thesis was on soil physical fertility in oil palm plantations. He also has a DEA diploma in Agronomy (equivalent to Master Degree) from the Montpellier High School for Agronomy in France, with a specialisation in tree crops.

“I believe agriculture and environment are highly compatible and should be integrated, and among all the agricultural crops, oil palm has one of the highest ecological potentials. I am passionate about discovering new technologies and approaches that support the ecological intensification of oil palm cultivation, through enhancing ecosystem services within plantations. This work could help ensure a steady supply of vegetable oil to the people, while protecting the environment.”

Khoo Kok Yeow leads our IT and digital teams in GAR, managing around 230 employees. Since joining the company in 2017, Kok Yeow has re-organised the teams, allowing deep domain expertise to be nurtured internally. Kok Yeow is currently operating IT in two tracks – one focuses on traditional IT, and the second focuses on innovative digital agenda: cloud, remote sensing, internet of things, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc.

He also heads the Corporate Functions Shared Services, driving cost efficiency, operational excellence and a continuous improvement mindset in his team. Building on the motto of ‘repeatable, predictable and measurable operations’, his focus here is on value-added services such as machine learning and artificial intelligence-based analytics.

Prior to GAR, Kok Yeow was with Accenture for 23 years. Over the last 20 years, he has been involved in a large number of transformation engagements, as well as other strategic consulting initiatives, predominantly with resources industry clients. Kok Yeow also has extensive Finance and Accounting, HR and IT shared services operations and governance experience, having architected, designed, transitioned and operated shared services (for these functions) at various large multi-nationals.

“In challenging times, I hold dear this quote from Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind – ‘Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect’. So no matter the trial, we must face it without fear, and work hard to adapt and change for the better.”

Paul Wassell spearheads the company’s work in food technology and innovation, leading a team of more than 40 in New Product Developments (NPD), applications, nutrition, compliance for specialty fats, margarines, shortenings, chocolate and non-dairy. He has over 39 years of experience in the field, and is a specialist in edible fats and oils application, particularly for baking and confectionary.

Prior to joining GAR in 2014, Paul worked with palm oil in Malaysia, DuPont (Danisco) in Denmark and ADM Pura Foods in UK. Paul has extensive knowledge in NPD, and has led the development of palm oil based solutions for multiple food applications. He is currently a member of the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS).

Paul received first-class honours with his Bachelor Degree in Product Management and Baking Technology at South Bank University, UK in 1997. He then completed his PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Chester, UK in 2013. His thesis was titled: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Structuring in Reduced Triacylglycerol Based Systems.

“My journey in the food industry has often taken me into new specialisations and I have always enjoyed new challenges – especially when others say something cannot be done. The phrase ‘adapt and overcome’ is continuously expounded to my R&D colleagues. Yes, I am an idealist, and that is probably why I love to innovate – to put conceptual thinking into practice, but always, within commercial reality.

Understanding what people want and predicting future consumer desires, requires a lot of emotional intelligence. I passionately believe that people are important, and I enjoy people learning and developing new skills. During my time in Indonesia, it has been my proud privilege to support and lead a world class team, which is successively innovating a new, and more sustainable future.”

Tony Liwang leads our Plant Production and Biotechnology division, which looks into the biotechnology of oil palm, and carries out research activities to improve planting material and seed stock.

He has been with GAR for over 21 years, holding various research and development roles within the company. He was previously the Head of our SMART Research Institute.

Tony has more than 30 years of experience in agriculture-based technologies. He was part of the founding committee of ICOPE, the International Conference on Oil Palm and the Environment, serving as its first chairman in 2009.

Tony received his PhD from the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Indonesia. He also has Master and Bachelor Degrees in Agricultural Technology from Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands.

“Many people have a perception that farming and agriculture, being more to do with nature, has no relation to technology. However, that is not that case. As a company we are highly driven by research and technology. In fact, biotechnology for oil palm has seen rapid development, especially in the last five years in which we have identified its whole genetic map.”