Arief Kusuma is a senior professional in business development, risk management consulting, and financial technology with over 30 years of experience across multinational companies and Indonesia’s banking sector. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston (1993) and a Master’s degree in Information Technology from Swiss and German University (2016).

He currently serves as the Country Director of Aptivaa Indonesia while also leading Cognext AI in developing artificial intelligence–based risk management solutions for Indonesia’s banking industry. Arief also holds the position of Director of Business Development at KORIKA (Collaborative Research and Innovation in Artificial Intelligence), where he leads initiatives that connect industry, research, and government to strengthen Indonesia’s AI ecosystem and implement the National AI Roadmap.

In addition, Arief serves as a Commissioner at PT Sea Money Data Analytics and PT Data Center Galaxis Sea Group. Since 2007, he has been the President Commissioner and Controlling Shareholder of BPR Syariah Harum Hikmahnugraha Garut, focusing on transformation and the development of Sharia-based banking institutions.

Arief is known as an innovative and analytical leader with strong business networking capabilities, including with major national banks such as Mandiri, BRI, BNI, BTN, BCA, CIMB Niaga, and others. He has also held strategic positions in companies such as Silverlake, Mastercard, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Oracle, Renoir Consulting, Askrindo, IBM Indonesia, DST International, Misys, and FNS. With his extensive leadership record and cross-disciplinary expertise, Arief is recognized as one of the key figures in the development of financial technology and AI policy in Indonesia today.