KNews.id- Sofyan Basir started his career in banking since 1981 at Bank Duta. In 1985 he joined Bank Bukopin and held several managerial positions at Bank Bukopin particularly as Commercial Director, Group Head Line of Business, and Branch Manager in several major cities in Indonesia.
After that he became chairman of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) in May 2005. In the hands of Sofyan, BRI was often identified with a market and village bank. But now, the state-owned bank has turned into a modern bank that is ready to compete with other commercial banks.
Some of Sofyan’s strategic decisions have proven to have a positive impact on BRI’s performance. He was able to turn BRI into a bank capable of competing with national and even international banks.
BRI managed to become equal with various other banks in Indonesia. Thanks to his enthusiasm and persistence, various awards have been given to him and BRI as the best bank. This achievement is inseparable from the experience he has, experienced in this sector since 1980 by working at Bank Duta.
According to him, for a long time, BRI has controlled market share to rural areas. Due to the intense competition in the banking sector, rural areas are no longer a monopoly of BRI. Because of this, Sofyan was moved to expand his reach in cities.
Despite all the achievements he has achieved, Sofyan has a simple personality. Both his character and the company’s philosophy of always getting closer to the little people turned out to have an effect on Sofyan’s daily life, for example in his very simple dress style.
Usually Sofyan wears a batik shirt, coat, or shirt plus a tie in a conservative style or adapts it to the meeting he is visiting. The growing trend of gadgets also did not make Sofyan tempted to change cell phones (cellphones) like other bankers. He still maintains his old cellphone.
Not only that, when he visited the regions, he was also not picky about hotels. He doesn’t care whether the hotel is classy or not, what is important, he can visit employees to remote areas. (Ikh)
