Who We Are

Behind CastleAsia is a dedicated team of experts and personnel who are dedicated to facilitating the success of our member businesses in Indonesia and to support them amid the myriad challenges posed by this vibrant Southeast Asian economy, the largest in the region. By way of our catalogue of reports and our roundtable meetings, our goal is to supply that vital information and insight that will make a difference to a company's performance or an executive's understanding of the forces at play. We are a diverse group of Indonesian nationals and long-term expatriates who are committed to Indonesia, its economy, its people and above all, to its success.

Meet our key people

James Castle

Founder

With decades of experience in Southeast Asia, Mr. James Castle has played a pivotal role in advising on numerous foreign direct investment projects and fostering partnerships with global corporations and prominent business groups in Indonesia and the broader region. His expertise extends to collaborations with governments and international agencies such as the World Bank, IFC, ADB, USAID, and the Indonesian government.

Ian Betts

Managing Partner

As a seasoned consultant with over thirty years of experience in the region, Mr. Ian Betts brings a wealth of expertise in risk management, strategic advisory, and political risk analysis in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the broader APAC region. With a decade of prior experience in business advisory, Mr. Betts joined Hill & Associates, where he served for sixteen years in both global and regional roles and responsible for operations in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Sugianto Tandra

Senior Analyst

A political analyst and former journalist with a deep commitment to understanding public affairs and policy issues in Indonesia, Mr. Sugianto Tandra brings a wealth of valuable experience to the table. In his current role, he oversees the production of our political analyses and business reports at CastleAsia’s Indonesia Country Program, where he leverages his diverse background in journalism and civil society activism to the beneoft of members.

Our Advisory Board

Umar Juoro

Umar Juoro was previously an Independent Commissioner at HSBC Indonesia. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Habibie Center and Asia Competitiveness Institute, LKY School of Public Policy National University of Singapore. He is also the Special Advisor for the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economy.

Previously, he was Chairman of Supervisory Board of Bank Indonesia, the Independent Commissioner of Maybank Indonesia, an Advisor for Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse Singapore, as well as an Assistant for Economy, Finance, and Industry to President Habibie. He was a consultant for the World Bank, ADB, UNDP and ILO. He graduated with a degree in Physics from the Bandung Institute of Technology and Economics from the University of the Philippines and Boston University.

Noke Kiroyan

Noke Kiroyan is the chairman and chief consultant of Kiroyan Partners, a firm specializing in corporate communications and public affairs. He advises Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia and chairs PT Bis Industries Indonesia. He has held leadership roles in non-profits such as the International Chamber of Commerce, USINDO, and the Bandung Institute of Technology.

His career includes senior positions at Salim Group subsidiaries in Germany, Australia, and the US, as well as roles at Rio Tinto and Newmont Gold Corporation in Indonesia. He negotiated with local communities on mining disputes and led the Rio Tinto Foundation. Noke holds degrees from Padjadjaran University, Syracuse University, and a Graduate Diploma from Edinburgh Business School.

Eugene Galbraith

Gene has nearly forty years working experience in Indonesia and Hong Kong. Until recently, he was a Director of the largest independent telecommunications tower company in Indonesia, Protelindo, as well as a Senior Advisor to the Geneva-based bank Pictet and Co, and to McKinsey & Co..

From 2002-2019 he was a senior member of the management team for the 2002 purchase from the Government of Indonesia of the largest private domestic bank, Bank Central Asia, serving as Deputy CEO from 2011 to 2019 and as Chairman from 2002 to 2011. He holds a B.A. (Philosophy), M.Phil (Economics) and Ph.D. (Anthropology) from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A (Anthropology) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Chris Newton

Chris has a 42-year career in upstream oil and gas, focusing on exploration, development, and production. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Tap Oil Limited and Non-Executive Director of Lion Energy Limited. Tap operates offshore in Thailand, while Lion operates onshore in Indonesia.

A 1978 Geology graduate from the University of Durham, England, Chris also holds a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia. His career includes roles as Managing Director of Fletcher Challenge in Brunei, Shell Deepwater Borneo, and President of Santos – Indonesia. He co-founded Risco Energy in 2010 and Risco Energy Investments in 2013. Chris was President of the Indonesian Petroleum Association from 2004 to 2007.

Andy Cobham

Andy Cobham has more than 45 years working experience in the field of Telecommunication and IT – both in the Public & Private Sector. He has lived and worked in Indonesia for the past 30 years in capacities ranging from advisor to the Government of Indonesia on telecommunications policy and regulations, President Director of Motorola Indonesia; President Director of Research in Motion (the BlackBerry people) as well as Country Partner with Wesley Clover (a Private Equity Investment firm operating out of the US and Canada, focusing on Incubator Funds to support IT Start-ups in Developing Markets). He chaired the AmCham Tecommunications & IT Committee from 1999 until his retirement in 2018 and served a ten year term as Vice Chairman of Indonesia’s MASTEL.

A.A. Tonny Pranatadjaja

A.A. Pranatadjaja ("Tonny"), had a 34-year career at PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk, with key roles in manufacturing, personnel, external relations, and CSR. Tonny led HR Development and Organizational Effectiveness initiatives, later establishing the Corporate Relations division. He gained recognition for successfully implementing Reputation Risk Management and community development programs, earning accolades for sustainable SME development at the World Association of SME Global meeting in Gibraltar, sponsored by UNCTAD. After retiring in 2003, Tonny became Unilever Indonesia's Corporate Relations advisor, and served as President of the ASEAN Cosmetic Association and Indonesian Cosmetics Companies Association. He is Director of PT Protocol One, an independent commissioner, and an advisory board member of various organizations.