In this profile series, meet the people working behind the scenes to make sure your energy is available when you need it, and what motivates them to keep their country moving.
Natalia Sukamto – Admin Assistant
Natalia Sukamto was working as a travel agent when she got her first taste of the energy industry. From that moment, she was hooked.
Natalia was booking flights for ExxonMobil employees and saw how different it was in the industry when compared to travel, and believed it had what she needed to build a more fulfilling career.
“What I was wanted when joining ExxonMobil was an opportunity for personal growth, to be more than just a travel agent,” Natalia said.
“It was just something very different for me, it was a big step as I had never worked in oil and gas before.”
She said there were two factors driving her decision to work with ExxonMobil; that there was a clear path for growth opportunities and hard work was acknowledged.
Because ExxonMobil was her first foray into energy, she still had to start as a contractor for the company before being hired on as full-time employee three years later.
Her first role was similar to her travel agent work, tracking guests in the case of an emergency.
“It was difficult at first and I struggled. I had no clue, it was like learning an entirely new language,” Natalia said, “but it was very exciting.”
She soon rose through the ranks and was hired to work in the LCC (Logistic Control Centre) in ExxonMobil’s Jakarta office, on Java island. A year later Natalia took on the role as the logistics group’s administrative assistant, before becoming a training administrator herself.
Following her marriage in 2014, she was encouraged to move to the new Bojonegoro site, also on the island of Java to use her skills to help develop the new office, which she said was her proudest experience with the company.
Natalia said she is now passing on what she has learnt during her career.
She volunteers for national initiatives such as Kelas Inspirasi (Inspiration Class) and Sahabat Desa (Friends of the Village) which allow professionals to share information and their skills with students around Indonesia, where she not only teaches children English but also the language of oil and gas.
After 12 years with the group, Natalia says she is still learning more about the industry every day.
