The View from the Top: Axton Salim (Bus’02)

Leadership is more than just a core set of skills. More than ever, it demands adaptability as ways of work change and challenges become more complex. Leeds alumni share the leadership lessons that have helped them motivate, inspire and problem-solve. Read other leaders' stories here.

Axton Salim (Bus’02), Director of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk and Executive Director of Salim Group

Axton Salim looks to an interconnected world to inspire his leadership style.

He acquired his fundamental business knowledge while a student at Leeds, and now he layers those basics with real experiences scaling food production and nutrition education efforts in Indonesia. 

“Just be open to learning about everything under the sun,” Salim said. “That’s broad, I know. But currently everything connects with each other. So, even for the marketing side, you need to understand what is happening on the geopolitical side. You need to know what is happening in different countries. Everything—marketing, sales, the bottom line—is influenced by what is going on around us.”

Salim credits technology like artificial intelligence and social media for helping businesses scale more quickly today than ever before. He says the digital landscape allows us to gather more information and take deeper looks at what interests us as humans and business leaders.

Access and interconnectivity help Salim lead a major consumer packaged food company, but they also help him use his broad knowledge base to make a positive impact on society by scaling humanitarian efforts with a focus on children’s nutrition. For almost a decade, Salim has been co-chair of Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network Global Advisory Group, which is part of a UN-led movement to help with the reduction of malnutrition. He recognizes the importance of education and how technology can be used as an educational tool for behavior change programs. Salim explains how he has worked together with University of Indonesia public health faculty in creating modules, through the help of an e-learning company, to help teenagers understand about balanced nutrition, anemia and prevention of stunting. Using creative and engaging approaches to disseminate the videos, the program has reached more than 2.5 million teenagers since it first launched three years ago.

In tandem with technology, paying attention to social issues guides the way Salim approaches business and his partnerships.

“Learn about the different issues that interest you, and explore different solutions. See it like you’ll solve it because even if you don’t, you’ll have a new set of understanding. For me, it’s deep-diving into issues that matter and then being some part of it —even if it’s just small. Just start somewhere.”