“We have to place an environmental base as a priority in our operations. This means that we have to minimize the impact of mining operations in Bahodopi, Pomala and Sorowako on the environment,” said the 44-year-old in her virtual speech following her inauguration as new CEO and president director of PT Vale in Jakarta. 

She went on to say, “PT Vale is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 2030 before achieving neutral carbon by 2050.”

Febriany became CEO and president director of PT Vale, replacing Nicolas D Kanter after nine years, following the approval of her appointment by shareholders in a virtual general shareholder meeting (e-RUPS) on April 29.

Nicolas is now a commissioner of the company.

Febriany reiterated her commitment to leading PT Vale in carrying out the development agenda in Bahodopi, Pomala and Sorowako.

“This is driven by PT Vale’s purpose of making a contributions to society as a whole and bringing prosperity for all,” she said.

Regardless of the incredible challenges, “we are committed to becoming carbon neutral in nickel production, a crucial factor in the global decarbonation plan,” she remarked.

As part of the low-carbon initiatives, PT Vale has laid out a plan to replace coal in the production process with natural gas (LPG) and “although using gas can reduce half of the carbon emissions resulting from our nickel production activities, we will explore the use of other clean energy sources,” she says.

She acknowledged that it was a great challenge to realize the incredible ambition but “I am confident that with the strong commitment shared by the board of directors, board of commissioners and shareholders, we can realize this ambition.”

PT Vale’s chief commissioner Mark James Travers said from Canada that the decarbonization of the economy was a global issue and “it is very critical to improve the environmental performance.”

“Fortunately, PT Vale has been involved in low carbonization plans in nickel production by using natural gas to fuel nickel plants, replacing coal. With the full dedication of Febriany, this decarbonization can be more intensified,” he said.

“The most important thing is having a strong commitment to low carbon and we continue to stick to this commitment,” he added.

“Febriany is one who 100 percent supports this policy. I’ve known her for a long time and she was the first person who raised the issue for improvement when it came to environmental performance, particularly decarbonization,” he pointed out.

Febriany has carved out a great career for herself at Vale over almost 14 years, 11 of which have been at PT Vale.

Professionally, the mother of two, who was born in Palembang, South Sumatra, has international working experience in the financial and mining sectors for almost 22 years.

Prior to joining Vale, she worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Jakarta for 5.5 years and in Amsterdam, Netherlands for a year and a half.

She served as manager of project financing supervision and financial evaluation at PT Vale for three years and was once assigned to work for Vale Base Metal Asia Pacific and Africa based in Brisbane, Australia, for 2.5 years. Her responsibilities covered Vale Base Metals’ operations in Indonesia, Japan, China, Taiwan and Africa.

Upon returning to Indonesia, she held the position as CFO of PT Vale from 2018 to 2019 and served as deputy CEO for two years before eventually being appointed as CEO.

Febriany holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Indonesia an MBA from UCCLA Anderson School of Management and from the National University of Singapore.

According to an S&P Global Ratings report, only 13.2 percent of C-suite executive roles are held by women.

This has led to Febriany being named one of the Top Most Influential Women in Treasury in Asia Pacific (2015), as one of the few women in the world that held this most strategic position in the mining industry.

Febriany, who was elected as Asia’s Top Sustainability Superwomen 2019, is also active in voicing gender equality, pluralism, inclusion and sustainability concerns through various forums, such as Women in Mining & Energy (WIME), the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE), and currently serves as vice chairman of the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD).

Her love of Indonesia’s nature has driven her to enthusiastically engage in her hobby of diving and promoting sustainability as her personal mission.

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