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In this exclusive interview, the HR leader reflects on a journey defined by culture, co-creation, and the belief that in HR, every moment truly matters.
After six impactful years at Tokopedia, respected HR leader Nanang Chalid has stepped away from a role that helped shape one of Indonesia’s most defining tech journeys.
From scaling up Tokopedia, getting through the pandemic, navigating two major corporate actions in four years, including the integration of Tokopedia into the ByteDance Group, he played a pivotal role in building HR operations from the ground up — reimagining culture, systems, and talent from within.
In this exclusive conversation with HRO’s Aditi Sharma Kalra, he reflects on his proudest moments, biggest lessons, and personal philosophies that shaped his journey, and shares what’s next as he enters a new chapter — driven by purpose, humility, and a deep belief in co-creation.
Q You’ve become a well-known figure in the Indonesian HR community. What do you think contributed most to your influence and resonance with others in the space?
My contribution has mainly been in my curiosity and willingness to share. I keep sharing on LinkedIn everything that we have done, openly and transparently, in the spirit of sharing. Hopefully people would benefit and get inspired by what we did.
There's always an opportunity to ‘make it happen, make it better’ — as we used to say at Tokopedia. The journey we had in the last six years, especially during the pandemic, as well as the back-to-back corporate actions such as the acquisitions — all the stories we shared, even when we had to let people go with respect and dignity, that was something we thought was natural and in the spirit of sharing — an 'abundance mentality’, as I like to call it. But that has been appreciated by people.
It is borne from the passion of trying to change the way the HR profession is being seen. One thing I learnt is that HR is more than just process & management — it's end-to-end, talent, culture, and more. What I learnt from my days at Tokopedia, is that you can actually develop products out of HR.
Q What is your ideal vision of HR?
- The first thing is to listen: Be clear about what kind of impact you want to make and really align that with your CEO/co-founders. This clarity is a must from all leaders. It's not about what HR wants; it always takes two to tango. You need to be able to have humility — that you don't really run the show. The ideal scenario is for HR leaders to come in with humility, and try to listen – What keeps my leaders up at night? What makes my talent restless to resign?
- Then you can identify what is the problem to solve. Once you know what the problem to solve, only then can you think about legacy.
- The second thing is to co-lead changes with leaders and be hands on – even when others might not be ready to take the lead with you. You don’t want to be seen as detached from the business. Success for any HR leader is always “after-the-fact”, a legacy. Sometimes ego strikes, and HR wants to be seen as the warrior leader on the stage. But that would risk HR in becoming siloed, irrelevant or losing its influence. So, the idea for HR leaders is to really step back and then co-lead any changes.
Q Departing from a company you’ve helped shape is a big decision. What are some of your happiest moments at Tokopedia?
My happiest moment was when I shared the story of Nakama culture on LinkedIn recently as I close my chapter with Tokopedia, since it was truly the end if an era. I was so happy to see how many people, both Nakamas (employees and ex-employees of Tokopedia) and beyond, could actually resonate with it.
When I was going through corporate actions, I struggled to see that everything that we built in HR locally, had to be put down as we integrated with the larger entity. The one thing I struggled the most with was to let go of our “Nakama culture”. The culture we had as Nakamas almost felt Utopian, but it was real: thousands of us who had been a “Nakama” had lived through it. That is the reason why I wrote about the Nakama culture in my last posts, it has to be written somewhere, it can't be forgotten.
I feel my writing allowed me, and apparently many other fellow Nakamas, in getting closure. Closure, in the sense of knowing that it was real, it matters, and it was a long-lasting legacy that must be recreated elsewhere. That was the happiest moment.
Q As you close this chapter, can you share your biggest lessons that you’ll carry forward in your next adventure?
- Number 1: Sharing with my fellow tech companies and startups — the biggest lesson learnt is that being profitable has become mandatory in a world that is changing. So far, we have talked about the human side of the business, but the important lesson is that you can have the best culture in the world, but if your P&L is not green, there is no point. So as HR, how do you balance business AND people?
- Number 2: Another lesson I will carry forward is the humility that HR should co-create everything with the business. As HR, we believe we should be leading the charge. But it shouldn't come at the cost of becoming detached from the business. As we are part of the business, we should co-create everything.
- Number 3: There is no such thing as "a big moment" in HR — as we often have in marketing, finance, and other functions. For HR, every moment is a big moment. It may be something small to you, but something that you do/say, may mean something big to employees. Be mindful of it. For instance, never ignore an employee just because you are busy, lest it creates an impression about the whole HR of the company owing to that interaction.
Q On a more personal note—how has this journey shaped you?
Somebody told me: Life comes through in many episodes. At the cost of sounding a little melancholic, leading HR at Tokopedia was the pinnacle of my career journey. So, for my next journey, it's going to be more about giving back.
Being Indonesian, there is a one dream I haven't achieved — i.e., to see a true Indonesian champion, with Indonesian values, that is being people- and culture-centric, thriving and successful, to a level where it becomes a regional or even global company. I could be helping them to get to this level in their journey.
My journey has taken me to a place where I feel "I have arrived" — it's a destination that everybody looks forward to. This allows me to approach my days with a mindset that is different. It's about feeling content with where you are, taking things as they come, doing your best, and enjoying that flow.
Q What's next for you?
I’m glad to be joining Paragon Technology and Innovation, an Indonesian champion in FMCG with a great culture. I want to support their journey to achieve their mission. Wish me luck!
HRO: We wish you the very best and look forward to hearing more stories from your next play!
Lead image / Provided
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