Leadership
Rachmat Gobel
Gobel Group Successor
Rachmat Gobel, is the fifth child and first son of Drs. H. Thayeb Mohammad Gobel. On the death of his father in 1984, Rachmat was handed control of the family business.
The Indonesian economic crisis in 1998, has brought many large Indonesian business groups to their knees. Huge corporate debts, shrinking markets, and unwieldy management systems prevent many of them from regaining their former strength that, at any rate, had been built on the weak foundation of patronage.
Only a number have had the foresight,fortitude, and management skills to survive and even flourish in such unsettling circumstances. The Gobel Group, led by Rachmat Gobel, would be included among these. As a result of this success, in 2000 the holding company PT Gobel International and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., have agreed to an indefinite extension of their joint venture cooperation, underlying the high confidence and trust existing between the two partners.
Befitting in the industry leader, Rachmat Gobel plays an active role as the industry spokesperson. Since 1999 he has been active in various business associations, he has served as the chairman of the Indonesian Electronics Association / Federation to the Vice Chairman of the Indonesia Chambers of Commerce and Industry. And because of his long experience managing and leading the Panasonic-Gobel joint venture activities in Indonesia, in 2006 he was appointed as President of the Indonesia-Japan Friendship Association.
In 2014-2015 he served as Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia under the leadership of President Joko Widodo. In 2017 -2019 he served as Special Envoy for the President of the Republic of Indonesia to Japan. In 2019 he was elected as Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia.