Wishnutama Kusubandio (born 4 May 1970) is a former Indonesian journalist and businessman. He was co-founder and CEO of
NET. Mediatama Television, from founding on 18 May 2013 until his resignation on 22 October 2019. He served as Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy under
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...
between 23 October 2019 and 22 December 2020.
His deputy minister before being called off was
Angela Tanoesoedibjo
Angela Herliani Tanoesoedibjo () ––known as Angela Chen (安琪拉·陳; Pinyin: ''Ānqílā chén'') in China–– (born 23 April 1987) is an Indonesian politician, who is the Vice Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy since 2019, fir ...
.
Early life and education
Wishnutama was born in
Jayapura
Jayapura (formerly Hollandia (1910-1962), Kota Baru (1962-1963), Soekarnopura (1963-1968)) is the capital city, capital and List of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of Papua (provi ...
, Indonesia on 4 May 1970. He spent his junior high at SMP Tarakanita 5 in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
.
After he graduated, he moved to Australia and went to
Kooralbyn International School,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, then continued studying at the
International School Singapore.
After finishing ISS, he joined the Military College of
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
at
Norwich University
Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...
in the United States of America.
Later on, he took a major in Liberal Arts at
Mount Ida College
Mount Ida College was a private college in Newton, Massachusetts. Its campus is now part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
In 2018, the University of Massachusetts Amherst acquired the campus and renamed it the Mount Ida Campus of UMas ...
and Communication at
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, USA.
He attended a television production course at
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
, participated in various executive education programs including
GE Crotonville Leadership Institute, New York and
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
, Boston, Massachusetts.
Career
Wishnutama took a part-time job as a production assistant at
New England Cable News.
After he graduated from Emerson College, he got a job at
WHDH7, an NBC affiliate in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.
In 1994, he returned to Indonesia and worked as an On Air Promo Supervisor in the Programming Department at
Indosiar (then-owned by
Salim Group
The Salim Group is Indonesia's biggest conglomerate and refers to companies where the Salim family holds majority ownership. Its assets include Indofood Sukses Makmur, the world's largest instant noodle producer; Indomobil Group, one of Indon ...
).
A year later, he became a Production Assistant
and went on to become a News Executive Producer. In 1999, he then advanced to Production Manager.
During his time at
Indosiar, he had contributed to produce several programs such as ''Pesta'', ''
Gebyar BCA'', ''Patroli'', ''
Halo Polisi'', ''
Satu Jam Bersama'', and ''Saksi''
In 2001, he decided to move to
Trans TV
PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
as Vice President of Production
and after two years, he became Operational Director;
a year later he was promoted to Managing Director.
In 2006, he was appointed as a President Director (CEO) at
TV7 (which later on changed its name to
Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
). Two years later, he became a President Director (CEO) at
Trans7
PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (previously PT Duta Visual Nusantara), operating as Trans7 or TRANS7 in all caps (stylized TRɅNS, 7, pronounced ''Trans Tujuh'' in Indonesian, formerly known as TV7) is an Indonesian free-to-air television b ...
and
Trans TV
PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia, commonly known as Trans TV, is an Indonesian Terrestrial television, free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001, and is owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programm ...
until he resigned in 2012.
During his leading at
Trans Corp (Trans7 and Trans TV), he had produced several programs including ''
Extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of Victorian burlesque, and pantomime, in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. The term is derived from th ...
,
Dunia Lain,
Termehek-Mehek,
Opera Van Java,
On The Spot,'' and ''
Indonesia Mencari Bakat''.
After he left Trans Corp, Wishnutama and
Agus Lasmono established a new television station in Indonesia. A year later, on 26 May 2013, NET. officially began airing.
On 2 November 2017, Wishnutama officially became a Commissioner for
Kumparan along with
Budiono Darsono,
Hugo Diba,
Ine Yordenaya,
Heru Tjatur, and
Yusuf Arifin.
He was appointed as the Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Asian Games 2018.
On 23 October 2019, Wishnutama was elected as Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy by Joko Widodo. He was replaced by
Sandiaga Uno
Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (born 28 June 1969) is an Indonesian businessman, investor and politician who served as Ministry of Tourism (Indonesia), Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2020 to 2024. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Govern ...
on 22 December 2020.
Experiences
* Production Assistant New England Cable News, Massachusetts, USA (1993)
*Assistant Director On Air Promotion WHDH, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (1994)
*On Air Promo Supervisor, Programming Dept. Indosiar (1994–1995)
*Producer/Director, Production Dept, Indosiar (1995–1997)
*Executive Producer, Indosiar (1997–1998)
*Section Head Production Dept, Indosiar (1998–1999)
*Production Manager, Indosiar (1999–2001)
*Production and Facilities Division Head, PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia (2001–2012)
*Director of Operation (COO), PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia (2004–2005)
*Vice President Director, PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia (2005–2008)
*President Director (CEO), PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (TRANS7) (2006–2008)
*Director of Production, PT Duta Visual Nusantara Tivi Tujuh (TRANS7) (2006–2012)
*President Director (CEO), PT Televisi Transformasi Indonesia (TRANS TV) (2008–2012)
*Director PT Agranet (Detik.com) (2011–2012)
*President Director (CEO) PT Net Mediatama Televisi (2013–2019)
*Advisory Board Members Asian Television Awards (2016–present)
*Creative Director, Opening and Closing Ceremonies Asian Games 2018 (2016–2018)
*Chairman ATVNI (National Television Association Indonesia) (2017–2019)
*Commissioner Kumparan.com (2017–2019)
*Commissioner
Tokopedia (2019, 2021–present)
*National Scout Advisory Board (2018–2023)
*Chairman PT Net Mediatama Televisi (2019)
*Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia (2019–2020)
*President Commissioner PT Telekomunikasi Seluler (
Telkomsel) (2021–present)
*Commissioner PT GoTo
Gojek
PT Gojek Indonesia (stylized in all lower case and stylized ''j'' as goȷek, formerly styled as GO-JEK) is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. Gojek was first established in Ind ...
Tokopedia Tbk (
GoTo) (2022–present)
During nearly 20 years of work, he has won several awards, including the
Asian Television Award and
Panasonic Awards.
He was chosen as the Best CEO in Indonesia 2010 by
SWA magazine.
In 2015, Wishnutama received an award of Indonesia Marketing Champion 2015 for the Broadcast, TV Pay & Media Sector by MarkPlus Conference. This award is given to 18 people who excel in 18 industrial sectors.
A year later, he was ranked 149th in the 500 Most Influential CEOs in the world according to Richtopia.com.
He was also named the Best Chief Strategy Execution Officer in the category of Best Execution Leaders by the (SPEx2) Awards in 2016.
On 27 September 2017, Wishnutama received an award in Best Digital Talent category for the sub category of Digital Business Leader by Bubu Awards. NET. CJ's official website was listed as a nominee in Best Website category for the sub category News and Entertainment. He was selected to receive an award from Ideafest 2017 x Samsung Galaxy Note8 for Indonesia's Influential Person in Creative Industry (October 2017).
Awards
* Indonesia Youngster Inc. by SWA Magazine
*''Best CEO'' by SWA Magazine tahun 2010
*The Best Chief Strategy Execution Officer Across All Industries by Tempo Media Group
* The Winner of 2016 Strategy-Into-Performance Execution Excellence (SPEX2) Awards
Indonesian National Television Association (ATVNI)
Wishnutama is also listed as a Chairman of the Board of
ATVNI (''Asosiasi Televisi Nasional Indonesia''), which was officially launched on 10 September 2017. Three national television media;
PT Cipta Megaswara Televisi (Kompas TV), PT Net Mediatama Televisi (NET.), and
PT Metropolitan Televisindo (RTV) signed the establishment of the Indonesian National Television Association (ATVNI). ATVNI aims to provide more open information that led to the birth of content that is not educational and can not be accounted for.
ATVNI is established by the deed number 59 dated 25 August 2017 and taking
Edward Suharjo Wiryomartani as the notary. ATVNI has a main purpose to be independent as well as to provide the objective information to audiences and avoid the interests of SARA, pornography, and uphold the social, legal, and moral norms.
Beside Wishnutama, the committee also consists of
Mochmad Riyanto as General Secretary,
Yonatan Stefanus Palulungan as Treasurer, Satrio as Supervisory Board,
Charlie Kasim as Vice President Supervisory, and
Azuan Syahril as a Member of Supervisory Board.
Personal life
On 20 September 2015, he married actress and presenter
Gista Putri
Gista Putri (born in Jakarta, 2 August 1987) is an Indonesian actress and presenter.
Early life
Gista Putri is of Sundanese people, Sundanese descent from her parents Agusdin Susanto and Susilowati from Kuningan, West Java, in Sawahwaru. She ...
. In his leisure time, he formed a band called
Soulful Corp. He is also passionate about photography.
References
External links
* {{Cite web, url=https://netcj.co.id, title=NET. CJ, website=NET. CJ
Indonesian journalists
Living people
Indonesian chief executives
1970 births
Government ministers of Indonesia
Onward Indonesia Cabinet
Mount Ida College alumni
Emerson College alumni