The President Director of PT Biofarma, Honesti Basyir, shared his experience helping Indonesia go through Covid-19 with vaccine at SBM ITB Graduation Celebration April 2023 (8/4/2023), held in the Intercontinental Hotel Dago, Bandung. Talking as one of the alumni of ITB Industrial Engineering, he also told his life story, starting from his active day as the president of the student union in the university, working in the telecommunication for about 23 years, to becoming the President Director of Bio Farma since 2019.
“For me, studying in ITB is a blessing. I got everything: knowledge, fame, and also the network. Amazing,” said Honesti.
In front of 523 graduates, Honesti gave some motivation by recalling his career experience. Without a background in Pharmaceutical Industry, people frequently ask him what helps him succeed as the leader of PT Bio Farma. According to him, the three key values of life are always delivering the best value, being unique, and keeping ourselves outside our comfort zone.
Honesti admitted that he felt such a huge challenge when he had to give his decision on vaccination in Indonesia. However, he decided to take risks at the moment since he believed that he did everything for the sake of humanity. Besides, Honesti also believed that he was not alone in this fight, but he was accompanied and collaborated with all other experts from different fields.
“One keyword, Collaboration. That is exactly what saves the world from this pandemic,” Said Honesti.
Honesti also did not forget to express the highest thanks to ITB, which has nurtured him into what he is today. He also gave some tips for pursuing success in the career world for the graduates. For him, soft skills are as important as hard skills because they will bring growth to a person’s career journey. Without soft skills, someone’s career will not go anywhere.
