PT Ganesha Aggies Jaya (PTG) was founded by my
late father Mike McGowan and Sigit Mursidi in 1990. Both were
classmates during their quest for Ph. D.’s at Texas A&M University
from 1987 to 1990.
PTG began as a coffee-shop conversation between
two graduate students, Mike and Sigit (see below) at the
Rudder Tower’ MSC, Texas A&M University. It developed into an
intense two-decade of personal and business partnership of two men
whose backgrounds were poles apart. In fact, this partnership did
not even end when one of the partners, Mike McGowan, passed away on
December 30, 2006; this partnership continues today with Mike’s
children, Tamara Williams and Matt McGowan.
Mike McGowan
Mike was
born in Malone, NY in 1949 and raised on a dairy farm. His father was
known throughout the region for honesty and integrity in the cattle
business, and the message that his father’s success was due to an
impeccable reputation was pounded home in Mike at an early age. Mike
never forgot the lesson and his reputation of honesty and integrity
have long survived his passing in 2006.
Mike is unforgettable. He was a hardworking
man, an honest to goodness character, and an enthusiastic business
person. Mike earned his Bachelor’s degree from the
State University of New York at Oswego in 1973, his Master’s
degree from
Murray State University of Kentucky in 1979, and his Ph. D. from
Texas A&M University in 1990.
In the years between receipt of his Master’s
degree and the inception of PTG, Mike was building strong
relationships by orchestrating and implementing several full scale
training and development programs for the Southeast Asian portion of
several companies (Asamera Inc., Unocal Geothermal, Conoco, Resources
Management International, Gray International Corporation, General
Motors, Jakarta International School, and Devon Energy Jabung
Ltd.)
Mike was able to see massive shortfalls of
efficiency from several companies seeking Foreign Direct Investment in
Indonesia and knew that there was opportunity in helping them help
themselves. So, he returned to Jakarta with a doctorate and a vision
of establishing a one-stop HR consulting company.
During the business vacuum in the post Suharto
era of 1998 to 1999 Mike saw the need for corporations to easily
access Indonesian Labor Law. In his relentless quest to find new
venture, by 2000 Mike had put PTG as one of
the pioneering firms who put Indonesian Laws on CD ROM. He was
very active in the
American Chamber of Commerce between 1990-2005, serving two terms
as a Governor and several others as a committee chair person.
Mike was a person with a big heart for
those suffering ; this link is from the Former Students’
Association of Texas A&M University, January 2005. His involvements
in the relief efforts for the survivors of the devastating tsunami in
Aceh are a testament to his character and legacy.
Sigit Mursidi
The next
description is Sigit’s own words, verbatim, so bear with me. Sigit
was born in Yogyakarta in 1959, raised in
Ponjong,
Gunungkidul -- a beautiful place which is a best-kept secret and
nobody cares; this place had no electricity until the early 1990s and
Google Earth does not even focus on this part of the world ( 7°57’44”
Latitude and 110°42’03”Longitude). He did not particularly excel in
the scholastic field for us to be able to call him a nerd (like some
people do). After graduating from high school he attended the
Academy of Fisheries Jakarta, one of the government-sponsored higher
education institutions prompted by the shortage of interests of the
younger
generation to work in fisheries sector, therefore “sekolah
tinggi kedinasans” were established. This was very fitting for
those “financially challenged” people, because tuition, meals, and
boarding were free. He was, by sheer luck, graduated with
distinction in 1980 and was immediately assigned as Instructor on
board the training vessel. He went to Italy from 1983 to 1984, for an
advance course in marine power plants. This program, which was
conducted in the beautiful resort of Italy,
San Benedetto del Tronto, was sponsored by the government of
Italy. All in all, he made a short-lived (six years) career as
Marine Engineer, which earned him the grand title of Chief Engineer in
1986. In the same year he miraculously won another scholarship
offered by the World Bank, left for the USA, pursuing further
education sponsored by the World Bank at the Sam Houston State
University and finally, he was undeservedly awarded a Ph. D. degree in
Agricultural Communication & International Development at Texas
A&M University.
In his previous years Sigit held various
responsibilities in the corporate life in the field of Employee
Training& Development, Human Resources Management, Expatriate
Management, and Compliance. He served as the head of HR Department at
several multinationals (General Motors, Mercedes-Benz) in Indonesia
and in Stuttgart, Germany. His international exposure covers Italy,
the USA, and Germany.
In his position as the President Director of PTG,
Sigit has consistently demonstrated himself as having an unwavering
demand for integrity in the workplace. He always has and always will
protect our clients before consideration of our personal benefit.
That attitude has had a top down effect which pervades the entirety of
PTG thanks to Sigit’s and my father’s insistence upon it being that
way. I am absolutely convinced of PTGs continued success under his
leadership.
Sincerely,
Matthew
J.McGowan
President Commissioner, PTG
