Karen Agustiawan

Karen Agustiawan is the president and CEO of Indonesia's state oil and gas company Pertamina. In 2011, Forbes named her first on its list of "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen."

Agustiawan was born in Bandung, West Java in 1958. She is the daughter of R. Asiah and Dr. Sumiyatno, the first Indonesian envoy to the World Health Organization and former president of the Biofarma pharmaceutical company.

In 1983, she graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology with a degree in engineering physics. She had initially intended to become a professor, but at the urging of her father she decided to pursue a career in business. After graduating, she took a job at Mobil, working as a quality controller for seismic drilling projects. She later worked as a project leader in the company's Exploration Computing Department. In 1998, she left Mobil for Landmark Concurrent Solusi, the Indonesian branch of Landmark Graphics Corporation. As a result of Landmark's merger with Halliburton, Agustiawan was promoted to project manager of oil and gas accounts in 2002. In 2006, she became the first woman head of Pertamina's upstream division. In February 2009 she was appointed CEO and president of the company, making her the first female to hold the position. During her tenure as CEO she has overseen the development of alternative energy sources like coal bed methane extraction and established a liquefied natural gas distribution system with Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

In June 2013 she was reappointed by the government for a second five-year term as CEO of Pertamina. She is the first CEO of Pertamina for many years to complete her full term.