Tycoon Tale
Dewinta Pringgodani is well known for her passion for fashion, but she is also a fierce businesswoman and a well-known political speaker
When Indonesia Tatler visited Le Gran Café in the Hotel Gran Mahakam one afternoon, Dewinta Pringgodani was already elbow-deep in her packed agenda and would continue to remain so until night-time. As someone who runs a mining business, it is only expected that she should have a very tight schedule, so we got right down to business with the interview by discussing her work, and how she came to be running a mining company.
“It started out as a family business,” she tells us. “My father was a military retiree and he used to be posted in strategic positions before his retirement. He managed to acquire some land in Kalimantan, which was not in high demand back then, and built a mining company there.”
After her father’s retirement, he expected his children to manage the business. With her education and expertise in law, her father would assign Dewinta to manage the company’s contracts. “Whenever the company needed to do business with partners, I would be the one who worked on the contracts,” she says.
Running a mining company is not her only occupation, mind you. She also runs a media group behind several websites, one of which is kabarpolisi.com: a website that aims to inform the public about the accomplishments of Indonesia’s police force at all levels. “Our police officers have always been at the forefront of safeguarding our country, and I want the public to know that they always work hard to maintain our safety,” Dewinta says.
Dewinta is also a keen observer of political, legal, and security affairs, and her opinions on Indonesia’s political issues are considered highly influential. As such, she is often invited for her comments in the media and as a speaker, which leads us to dig deeper about her thoughts on current affairs. Dewinta was genuinely excited when we asked her about the most important issue that Indonesia is facing today.
“I think the forest fires in Riau are a very crucial issue right now because they affect public health in Riau. They even affect our neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Singapore,” she answers eagerly. She adds that President Joko Widodo was right when he said that the situation could have been avoided and agreed with the solution he suggested.
“The president said that he would discharge government, police, or military officials who are not capable in their work, especially in handling the forest fires, and I agree with him—there should be performance evaluations for the officials who are responsible for them,” Dewinta notes. “It is a horrible thing; handling forest fires is a very tough job, but I hope that the officials will do everything in their capacities
to handle them and make sure that this will not happen again in the future.”
Glancing at her watch towards the end of the interview, Dewinta straightens her fashionable dress-shirt and trousers while answering our last few questions. For Dewinta, who is also a fashion enthusiast, dressing well is important. “As a businesswoman, I have to meet with colleagues and business partners,” she says. “I believe that I need to appreciate them, and one of the ways that I can do this is by presenting myself well, looking appropriately elegant during our meetings,” she adds. Having mastered the art of power dressing, Dewinta certainly manages to maintain her own unique charm and confidence, and rightly so.