Haris (Group President) — Conversation Prep

Last updated: 2026-06-28

Standalone prep for the conversation with Haris. This isn't a script. It's to help me walk into the room with a clear head.

Read this first

Why I wanted this conversation

I've been thinking quite hard about what the next role should prove.

When I look back now, every role has taught me a different part of running a business. Strategy gave me a view from the top. Non-Food gave me commercial accountability. Indonesia taught me what it really means to carry responsibility for a country operation. Garuda stretched me in ways I couldn't have imagined.

To me, the next logical step is bringing those pieces together in a business role. That's really why I wanted Haris' view.

What I want from the conversation

I'm not asking him to find me a job. I'm asking him where he honestly thinks I belong.

If he sees opportunities beyond what's already being discussed, I want to hear them. If he thinks I'm missing something before taking on a larger operating role, I want to hear that too.

If he walks away thinking, "Amir should be running a business," then the conversation has done its job.

Keep it simple

Don't try to impress him. Don't try to defend Garuda. Don't try to persuade him.

Just explain how you've arrived at your thinking.

What I'll probably say

"Thanks for making the time.

You were the one who encouraged me to move out of Strategy and into Operations, and you asked me to take Garuda on. You've probably had the longest view of how my career has developed, which is why I wanted to come and get your perspective.

I've been thinking quite hard about what comes next.

Looking back, every role gave me another piece of what it takes to run a business. Non-Food gave me commercial accountability. Indonesia taught me country leadership. Garuda stretched me in ways I couldn't have imagined.

To me, the next logical step is bringing those pieces together in a business role.

I'm not particularly attached to a title. What matters to me is having genuine responsibility for making the whole business work. That's the capability I still want to build.

I'd really value your view on where you think that could realistically happen inside the Group."

The three questions

1. Where would you actually deploy me?
2. Is there anything you think I still need to build before taking on a larger operating role?
3. Is there anyone you think I should speak to?

If Strategy comes up

Don't react. Just say:

"Strategy was an important part of my development, but it was never where I wanted to stop. I moved into Operations because I wanted to be accountable for results, not just recommendations. I still think that's the right direction."

Then leave it there.

If Garuda comes up

Don't defend it. Acknowledge it.

"Garuda probably taught me more than any role I've had. It stretched me across capital delivery, governance, stakeholder management and crisis management.

What it also taught me is that I'm probably at my best when I'm running a business rather than directing a project."

If he asks whether I'm ready

Don't try to prove it. Just explain your thinking.

"I don't think any single role proves it.

Looking back, I think each role gave me another piece. Non-Food. Indonesia. Garuda.

To me, the next logical step is bringing those together. That's why I'm exploring operating roles rather than going back into a pure Strategy role."

If he says I'm too soft with my team

He's raised this before — the captain who doesn't clear the deadwood, and when the ship goes down it's on him. Assume it comes up.

Don't rebut it. The Garuda record doesn't support a "see, I was actually tough" defence — the Lyduma warning letter was instructed but never sent, and the instinct to protect the team at the exit is exactly what he's describing. Arguing the point just confirms it.

Acknowledge it and show you've worked through it.

"That's fair — and you've said it before, so I've sat with it rather than argued it. The root is real: I protect my people, sometimes past the point where the team is better served by a harder call. What Garuda sharpened for me is that protecting the team and clearing the people who can't meet the standard are actually the same job — carrying deadwood is the disloyalty, because the ones pulling their weight pay for it. In a larger operating role I'd hold that line earlier and more visibly. That's the muscle I'm building — and I'd welcome you holding me to it."

If he wants a concrete example, use the IPM safety removals — Site Manager and HSE Officer removed, works suspended, zero-tolerance review. Don't use Lyduma: the unsent warning letter is part of the same story and undercuts it.

Inviting him to hold you to it gives him a role in your development. That makes him more likely to advocate.

If he asks what happens if the right role doesn't exist yet

"I'm comfortable waiting for the right opportunity. I'm not looking to force the timing. But I also don't want to drift.

If there's an important operating problem the Group needs solved in the meantime, I'd much rather do something with real accountability than sit in an advisory role waiting."

Other things he might raise

"Hear what Renaka has in mind on Strategy first." "I will — her input matters and I'm engaging her directly. I came to you because of the arc, not to bypass her."

"Sure you want another operations role after Garuda?" "Yes — the right shape, not the same shape. Garuda was capital-project delivery. What I want is to run a business. Same direction, different thing."

"Head of Mills could still be something." "Possibly — I'm keeping an open mind on shape. What matters is whether the accountability is genuine, so I'd value your view on where that's most likely to be true." (Don't reveal what you know about the Upstream direction. Don't over-invest in mills.)

"But we're still paying your salary — what would you do in between?" "Fair point — and I'm not asking to sit on the bench. Put me on a defined, time-boxed operating mandate that creates value now — a turnaround, a cross-functional problem no one owns, something with a real result attached. The difference from an advisory role is that there's an outcome I'm accountable for, with a clean boundary. It earns my keep, and it de-risks the bigger seat for you — you'd be backing someone you've just watched deliver, not placing a bet."

Things to remember

• Don't arrive carrying disappointment about Mills.
• Don't try to convince him.
• Listen more than you speak.
• If he offers an introduction, close it before leaving.
• Write down names and commitments immediately afterwards.
• Brief Renaka on direction and any follow-up, not the whole conversation.

What success looks like

Not a job offer. Not a promise. Not even an introduction.

Success is much simpler. He leaves thinking:

"Amir should be running a business."

Listen for

• Whether he names seats, CEOs, or business units beyond mills — that's the real aperture test.
• Whether he reads Garuda's outcome as structural or personal.
• Whether he's treating Strategy as a genuine recommendation or a default.
• Whether he's comfortable being the primary sponsor, or wants to share that load.

Background and context

Confirmed: Monday 29 Jun 2026, 08:00. Outreach via WhatsApp on 24 Jun; he came back with this slot.

Original message for reference:

"Hi Haris, hope you are keeping well. Since coming back, I've been exploring options for my next role within the Group with Renaka & Shahrizan. Head of Mills is one of the roles being explored, but Renaka started with a potential Strategy role. Renaka mentioned you two had spoken — figured it'd be good to connect directly. I would really appreciate the chance to meet or speak with you, and get your views and guidance. If you are ok, just let me know when you are available for us to meet or I could reach out to your office to get a time. Thank you"

What's changed since the original prep

The original Conversation 1 was written when Head of Mills (Midstream) was the live path. That premise has moved:

Hold the intel. The Upstream-direction read came through informal channels and Renaka's relay. Don't reveal you know the GLC landed on Upstream. Don't ask Haris to fix or confirm the reporting line — that's GLC/Renaka territory, and pressing the Group President to settle an org line looks like going over heads.