FEB UI and Paragon Career Webinar: Build a Career in a Local FMCG Company

FEB UI and Paragon Career Webinar: Build a Career in a Local FMCG Company

 

Rifdah Khalisha – Public Relations FEB UI

DEPOK – (7/9/2021) On Tuesday (7/9), the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (FEB UI) together with Paragon held a Career Webinar online with the theme “Build a Career in a Local FMCG Company”. The event presented speakers Dini Ardi (Vice President Product Innovation and Development) and Bagus Anindityo (Group Head Finance Business Partner).

Starting the event, Dini shared her experience of pursuing a career at Paragon, “I graduated in 1998 from Environmental Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology. At that time, there were many job vacancies for oil and gas environmental engineering majors. I was also actively applying, where even some applications have reached the final stage.”

She continued, “However, there was a very small advertisement in print that caught my eye. The advertisement was for a job vacancy for PT Paragon Technology and Innovation (PTI). I know that the company produces Wardah, a cosmetic brand with a halal concept. For me, this company has a useful mission so I took the  risk and  applied.”

According to Dini, when someone dares to dream big, then he has taken an active role in his life. He was present and allowed himself to experience things happening. When he makes a conscious effort to set and achieve goals, he will have a richer life experience.

Long story short, Dini managed to get a job at Paragon, a company with 1 factory, 3 distribution centers, and no more than 500 employees. Currently, Paragon currently has 7 factories, 42 distribution centers, and 10,000 employees. Of course I didn’t think it would be this fast. More than that, Paragon managed to rank first for local players in Indonesia, alongside multinational companies.

Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) companies tend to be the most stable companies, home to many of the leading brands whose business is close to everyday life. FMCG offers the opportunity to express creativity in innovative industries through the development of new ideas for products, packaging, branding and advertising.

Paragon is committed to sowing benefits continuously through its products for humanity and mother earth. Its mission is to develop the economy, create well-being for customers, make continuous improvements, invite to grow together, care for the earth, support the nation’s education and health, and develop business.

In fact, Paragon and Paragonians—the employees who built the company together—have similar values. So since its establishment, Paragon has been faithfully committed to its 4 pillars of corporate social responsibility (CSR), namely education, women’s empowerment, health, and the environment.

Brands under Paragon are listed in the list of the top 5 beauty brand strengths in Indonesia, namely Wardah at number 1, Emina at rank 3, and Makeover at rank 4. Most recently, Paragon launched Kahf, a men’s care brand. In the future, there will be many new brands as well.

Finally, Dini invited the webinar participants to dream big, “We must have a founder’s mindset and mentality.”

After that, Bagus introduced himself, “I am a graduate of FEB UI, from the Professionalism Study of Accountants, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (SPA FEB UI). Currently, I am working at Paragon as Group Head Finance Business Partner.”

Bagus said that Indonesian consumers really love Paragon products. Current data shows that, 6 products are successfully sold every second. Paragon became the market leader in several categories, including make-up products ranked first, moisturizing products ranked first, and cleansing products ranked third.

Next, Bagus shared his journey in his career. According to him, everyone would define a career with different views and thoughts. After 12 years of building a career in several companies, he decided to join Paragon in 2020.

He revealed, “My personal principles about career development are having the right mindset, connecting puzzles, improving skills, making a difference, and trying to stay relevant. I was amazed to see Paragon able to develop the Paragonian. Paragon provides the best learning in various countries for its Paragonians.”

“I realized that a career is not a journey to the top, but a journey for self-improvement. In a career, a person only needs to focus on what he is able to control. So, it is important to thrive in the right space. Besides that, the philosophy of small fish in a big pond or big fish in a small pond is irrelevant, especially at Paragon. In our company, when the pond grows, the fish also grow.” he added.

Paragon has remained competitive during the pandemic, gaining market share in facials. Considering that Wardah is ranked first in brand strength in Indonesia, it means that local brands are no less competitive with other global brands, such as Shiseido (Japan), Sulwhasoo (Korea), and Estee Lauder (America).

“My personal dream in joining Paragon was that, I want to contribute to building a large multinational group of companies with a good cause. Paragon is the best brand with products made in the country, loved by many consumers around the world, managed by the best Indonesian talents, and operated with a noble purpose.” Bagus concluded.

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