Jakarta. Company leaders need to be as transparent as possible in their communications to the public if they wish their businesses to thrive, according to the media intelligence provider CARMA Asia.

Chief executive officers (CEOs) nowadays are as visible as celebrities and as scrutinized as politicians, especially when things go south.

CARMA Asia recently released a CEO Media Index report that measures Indonesian business leaders’ credibility, vision, and communication -- all are key to shaping perceptions and stakeholder trust. As Indonesia inches closer to the new year, CARMA Asia Managing Director Andrew Nicholls listed some things that CEOs could do to build trust in 2026.

“Trust fundamentally is about doing what you say you are going to do and doing that consistently. So deliver on your promises. When things don’t go well, and if you face criticism, just be very transparent about it,” Nicholls said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“Apologize when that is necessary and demonstrate that you have a plan.”

According to CARMA’s CEO Media Index, BRI’s Hery Gunardi and PLN’s Darmawan Prasodjo enjoyed the highest favorability, scoring 62 out of a 100 scale. The same goes for MIND ID’s Maroef Sjamsoeddin. Although the retired high-ranking militaryman has low media visibility, Maroef managed to link the company’s sustainability initiatives to economic development programs.

In its report, CARMA had picked CEOs from the Fortune Indonesia 100, which ranks companies by revenue. From the top 20 firms, they measured media mentions for each CEO and focused the analysis on the ten CEOs with the highest coverage.

Simon Aloysius Mantiri, who helms the state-owned oil giant Pertamina, scored 60 in favorability. However, the report highlighted Simon’s way of defusing negative narratives, particularly when the freshly minted Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa slammed the company for refinery project delays. Simon did not react defensively, but welcomed his feedback and gave updates on what Pertamina had done on the refinery development. Nicholls admitted that business leaders could turn bad publicity into a positive outcome by openly addressing the issue at hand.

“We have seen a lot of examples of CEOs who have been responding to criticisms. And in doing so, these CEOs have taken the opportunity to state the values and strategic objectives of their organizations. It's possible to take something which could potentially turn into a negative story and redirect that,” Nicholls said.