Edison Manalu, often called Edison, is one of the alumni of the Faculty of Humanities (FIB) at Airlangga University, majoring in English Literature batch 1993. Currently, Edison is the CEO of the largest food and beverage company in Indonesia, Mount Scopus Group Indonesia.

His career journey, for this Surabaya-born alumnus on July 14, 1970, has been quite extensive. Edison has been involved in the retail industry for the past 22 years. He is not only in Indonesia, but he also has experience working for multinational and international retail companies. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades. One is the CEO of The Year award, which Edison received in 2017.

"There have been many achievements in my career. However, the most memorable one is being selected as one of the CEOs of The Year in 2017, organized by seven ministries of the Republic of Indonesia," said the triathlon sports enthusiast.

Entrepreneurship Enthusiast Since College

Since his college, when the Faculty of Humanities was still part of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Edison showed a great interest in the business world. He often took the initiative to supply merchandise for various events within his department. It was during this time that Edison began to develop an interest in business.

"I would search for suppliers and then create the merchandise until it was ready. Only then would I sell it to my fellow English Department mates. That's where my love for the business process started to grow," he said.

Edison indeed had a wide network during his college years. He was an active student involved in various religious and social organizations. He was also quite popular among his fellow students, even among the seniors.

English Literature Graduate, Jumping into Retail Business

Edison's career journey can be considered quite unique. Why? Edison felt that the major he pursued during his college days had no connection whatsoever with his career. Nevertheless, he has achieved success in his career. Before venturing into the retail industry as he is now, Edison worked as a freelancer in a property company.

During that time, he was responsible for procuring raw materials and logistics for a contracting company. "I took on that job while waiting for my graduation, which was still six months away at the time," said Edison.

After his graduation, around 1994, Edison began his career by enrolling in a management training program offered by one of the leading retail companies, PT Hero Supermarket.

After going through six to seven stages of selection, Edison was qualified and joined the program for one and a half years. There, he gained enough knowledge to manage retail businesses such as supermarkets. "At that time, there were 12,000 applicants from all over Indonesia, while only 18 management trainee positions were available. So, it was really tough," he said.

However, Edison stood out. He was among the three outstanding trainees who underwent acceleration. The training program, which was supposed to last for 18 months, was completed by Edison in just 8 months.

In 1995, after completing the training, Edison was appointed as an Assistant Store Manager at one of the branches of Hero Supermarket in Jakarta. It didn't take long for him to be promoted to Store Manager at that time. "That's where my passion for my career actually emerged. Because it turns out, in managing a retail business, we are taught very detailed and comprehensive aspects of how to lead a business unit and organization," added Edison.

One year later, in 1996, Edison was recruited by a retail company from France under PT Contimas Utama Indonesia, Continent Hypermarket. During his time at Continent, Edison had the opportunity to serve in several positions. The continent was quite well-known at the time as it was the first hypermarket in Indonesia.

After leaving the Continent, Edison joined Carrefour. He also worked at Price Smart, which later changed its name to The Club Store, a retail company from the United States affiliated with a retail company in Indonesia. Edison experienced a short career stint in America during that time. He also studied Retail Management at the University of Stirling for 12 months in 2000.

"I had a brief career in America for a while. At that time, it was an assignment from Price Smart," explained Edison.

At this point, Edison continued to focus on building his career in the retail industry. In 2014, he decided to leave his position as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at PT Hero Supermarket and joined PT Cardig Aero Services.

In his new company, Edison oversees three subsidiary companies: PT Purantara Mitra Angkasa Dua, PT Cardig Anugrah Sarana Catering, and PT Arang Agung Graha. "My position is as the CEO and President Director in each of those companies," he concluded.

Key to Edison's Success

Edison is someone who always sets achievement targets in his work. He is grateful that all of his targets have been achieved on time.

According to Edison, a leader should have at least three principles. First, being firm in principles. Second, being flexible in actions. Third, being wise in decision-making.

Currently, Edison is a member of the Platinum Circle Hundred, an association of CEOs whose company turnover reaches USD 100,000,000. He is also busy as a freelance consultant in several specialized retail business consulting firms in Singapore.

Edison is grateful that the company he leads is thriving. "Whatever career or profession we pursue, strive to be the best. After becoming the best and leading, we must create a successor who is far better than us," he emphasized.

 Source : The Footprints of Airlanggas's Knights Edition V