Irwan Hidayat Prepares a New Chapter in Sido Muncul's Journey

JAKARTA - In early April 2026, Irwan Hidayat was officially appointed as President Director of PT Industri Jamu Dan Farmasi Sido Muncul Tbk (SIDO). Even though he is already considered elderly, namely 79 years old, Irwan actually admitted that he had prepared an important step for the sustainability of the company's business.

Irwan is preparing a new chapter in the history of Sido Muncul: handing over the company built by his family for more than 70 years to the next generation with a stronger, healthier, and sustainable governance foundation.

This was stated by Irwan when he was interviewed by Professor and business practitioner Rhenald Kasali. Irwan emphasized that he wanted to be the last CEO of the third generation of the founding family of Sido Muncul.

"I have a strong moral bond with Sido Muncul. My destiny is here. I want to make sure that this company becomes a fully compliant, perfect, and flawless company before I hand it over to the next generation," he said.

According to Irwan, his leadership as CEO will only last about a year. After that, leadership will be handed over to the fourth generation who now have adequate work experience and education.

One of Irwan's main focuses at the moment is to ensure that the regeneration process goes well. However, he emphasized that the company's highest position is not automatically given to his biological child.

Even though his daughter is now serving as the Director of Marketing and is the most senior member of the fourth generation, leadership decisions will still take into account ability and readiness.

"It's not necessarily my son who is chosen. The most important thing is who is the most ready to lead the company," he said.

Currently, there are 13 members of the fourth generation of the Sido Muncul family who are actively building communication and preparing the future of the company through an internal forum that they designed themselves, namely the "family chapter".

Irwan admitted that he deliberately gave space for the younger generation to draft their own rules and agreements.

"They have their own customary laws. If we interfere, it will be chaotic because our way of thinking is different," he said with a smile.

Unlike many family companies that are divided due to internal conflicts, Irwan assessed that the main foundation of Sido Muncul is the values instilled by the parents and founders of the company.

He recalled his mother's message who always reminded the importance of maintaining brotherly relations.

"If it's just with your brother, it's not good, especially with others. If you keep fighting, people's trust will also go down," he recalled.

According to Irwan, differences of opinion in the family are normal. However, conflicts should not develop into destructive disputes.

"Different opinions are normal. The important thing is not to lose the awareness that brothers are the best partners we have," he said.

In the interview, Irwan also revealed one of the most important decisions in the history of Sido Muncul, namely changing the traditional herbal industry into a scientific research-based one.

The idea came up in 1985 when he saw that pharmaceutical products had a high level of trust because they were supported by research and scientific evidence.

"I think, if consumers are faced with several products and only one has scientific evidence, they will definitely choose the one with evidence," he said.

However, this dream can only be realized after Sido Muncul built a modern production facility in 2002 that meets pharmaceutical industry standards. Since then, various Sido Muncul products have undergone preclinical tests, toxicity tests, and scientific proof of efficacy.

According to Irwan, this step is one of the main factors that led Tolak Angin to become the market leader for colds in Indonesia.

Irwan emphasized the philosophy of life that has been a guide in building a business. According to him, success and wealth are not something that can be pursued directly.

"Wealth cannot be pursued. In fact, we are pursued by wealth. The way is simple, do everything well, sincerely, and build trust," he said.