Ari Hermanto Soemarno, Chairman of the German-Indonesia Chamber of Industry and Commerce (EKONID) from 2009 to 2015, who is also known for his service as the President Director of state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) from 2006-2009, passed away on Sunday morning, November 13, 2022. He was 73.
Mr. Soemarno is widely credited for his leadership during Pertamina鈥檚 transformation period in the mid to late 2000s. A graduate of Chemical Engineering from the University of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Mr. Soemarno started his climb to the top of the corporate ladder as a processing technician at the Badak LNG refinery in Bontang, East Kalimantan, in 1978. He continued to serve Pertamina in East Kalimantan for 16 years.
Prior to his appointment as President Director of Pertamina, Mr. Soemarno took on a number of high-ranking and influential positions. On October 2001, Mr. Soemarno was entrusted with the task of being a special staff to Pertamina鈥檚 Director of Upstream. In 2003, he became the President Director of Petral, a subsidiary of Pertamina based in Singapore that focuses on the import and export of fuel and petroleum. Following that, he took on the role of Pertamina鈥檚 Director of Marketing and Sales before moving on to lead the whole company.
During his time as Chairman, and later as a member of the advisory board at EKONID, Mr Soemarno supported the development of Indonesian - German economic and social relationships.
Mr. Soemarno is survived by his wife, Ruci Nurwardani Soemarno and his two children, Yuri Aryorachmanto Sumarno and Andarina Kusumawardani Sumarno, as well as his son and daughter-in-law and his grandchildren. He was buried on November 13, 2022, at San Diego Hills in Karawang, West Java.
On behalf of EKONID鈥檚 entire team, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Soemarno鈥檚 family.