Heaptalk, Jakarta — XCION, one of the oldest communities for CXOs in Indonesia, is paying particular attention to the younger generation, as demonstrated by the Youth Wing Gathering held in Central Jakarta (10/23).
According to Jing Rui Goh, Head of Partnerships at XCION, the younger generation is now leading digital transformation. These new, younger digital consumers are driving a significant portion of digital change. This led the community to initiate the gathering. Attended by approximately 20 participants, the Youth Wing Gathering is expected to provide a cozy ambiance to interact with each other and learn more in a sufficient amount of time.
Entitled ‘The Next Generation CXO: Charting the Path to Leadership,’ the gathering featured prominent speakers with expertise in their fields, including Budiman Rusly, XCION Youth Wing CXO Advisor, and Muhammad Suhada, Director and CTO of MNC Financial Services.
“The power lies with young people. The world belongs to the young. That’s why it’s so important for us to have a voice in the community and influence the future. We shape a lot of what will happen next, and we do that through a youthful community,” Jing Rui said to Heaptalk in Central Jakarta (10/23).
Developing a burgeoning tech youth community in Indonesia
Currently, the Youth Wing is working on becoming more structured, which has created three main agendas: bi-monthly or quarterly gatherings, conference platforms, and mentoring sessions. Despite their busy schedules, the CXOs in XCION find it valuable to give back to the community and develop the next generations, allowing the Youth Wing to conduct more frequent sessions.
The conference platform provides opportunities for young leaders to lead discussions, moderate, participate as panelists, and attend events. It also allows them to gain exposure to the broader ecosystem beyond their own companies and learn about best practices from others. As for the mentoring sessions, the community serves as a platform for mentors and mentees to connect and learn from each other. The goal is not only for young people to learn from senior professionals but also for reverse mentoring, where CXOs learn from the younger generation.
Jing Rui emphasized that the heart of this community is about giving back through mentorship and community sharing. This involves career or technical skills and the soft skills needed to become a team leader, CXO, or future board member. These are complexities that are not typically taught in school. He voiced, “You can learn Node.js, React, and JavaScript, but no one teaches you what it takes to become a CXO.”
For CXOs, there is a reverse mentoring component, where they learn from young people about what is needed to move forward and what the younger generation seeks in the future, whether as team members, leaders, or consumers with specific habits. “That’s what the Youth Wing is all about—creating a platform for the next generation to have a voice and to learn from those who came before them,” Jing Rui concluded.
