JAKARTA – The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has appointed Captain Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan as the President Director of  PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (GIAA), replacing Irfan Setiaputra. This decision was made during Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders last week (15/11). Panjaitan is known to have experience in the aviation industry for 20 years.

Panjaitan was born in Wamena in 1981 and spent his childhood in Jayapura. Entering Air Force Academy, he graduated from Air Force Flying School in 2003. He went to Taruna Nusantara, an elite high school managed by the Ministry of Defence, and graduated in 1998.

Several trainings under his belt include Aviation Medicine Couse (Republic of Singapore Air Force, 2007), Instructor Course (Royal Australian Air Force, 2008), and Squadron Officer School (US Air Force, 2011).

These trainings helped to boost his skills as pilot when he was tasked at the National Air Force. He once piloted a patrol aircraft of Boeing 737-200 in Strategic Investigative Air Squadron at Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, as well as becoming a Flying Instructor at Adisucipto Airport in Yogyakarta.

Prior to be appointed as GIAA’s CEO, Panjaitan worked in PT Batik Air Indonesia, Rusdi Kirana’s company, since 2013. He took position as Director of Safety, Security, and Quality, which was tasked to improve service quality and safety standard for the airline. In 2022, he was promoted to be the CEO of PT Lion Air. (LK/ZH)