Some trips are just business trips — a flight, a meeting, a hotel stay, and then home again.
But every once in a while, there’s a trip that feels like a journey — where every stop adds a new layer to your perspective.
It was a week of rediscovering cities I thought I knew, visiting new places I’d always dreamed of, learning from one of the world’s most influential companies, and coming home with insights that I know will shape the future of my leadership and my company.
I arrived in Shanghai on September 20, flying Singapore Airlines. This was my third visit to the city, but it still felt fresh — Shanghai has a way of always showing you something new.
The first part of my trip was business-oriented. I was invited to meet with Huawei, where we discussed opportunities to strengthen Indonesia’s digital ecosystem and how global partnerships can accelerate innovation. These were meaningful discussions, and they reminded me how critical it is to look beyond our borders when we think about the future of technology.
But Shanghai isn’t just about business — it’s also a city of experiences.
Eventually, I made my way to The Bund. The riverside promenade was crowded, as always, but that’s part of its charm. I stood there, looking across the Huangpu River at Pudong’s skyline as the lights of the skyscrapers came alive. It’s a view that never fails to inspire me — a testament to how vision and persistence can transform a city.
Shanghai is also a culinary capital, and I made sure to enjoy it fully. I visited a Michelin 5-star restaurant and tried their famous crab noodles — the flavors were delicate yet rich, the kind of meal that stays in your memory.
I also spent some quiet moments at People’s Park, watching locals gather and chat, before braving a 1.5-hour queue at the legendary Park Hotel Deli to buy their pastries. Waiting in line gave me time to slow down and reflect — and when I finally tasted them, it was clear why the line was so long.
On September 23, I left Hangzhou for a day trip to Beijing — my very first time visiting China’s capital.
When I finally arrived, I took the cable car up — and suddenly, there it was. The Great Wall stretched across the mountains as far as my eyes could see, winding endlessly into the horizon.
Standing on those ancient stones was a humbling experience. The cool mountain air, the silence broken only by the wind, the sheer scale of the Wall — it all made me pause. This was not just a tourist attraction. It was a reminder of what persistence, collaboration, and vision can create when pursued over generations.
Visiting Alibaba’s Headquarters
Walking through their campus felt like stepping into the living history of one of the world’s most transformative companies. I learned more about Jack Ma’s early struggles, the challenges of convincing early investors, and the turning points that allowed Alibaba to grow from a small apartment startup to a global powerhouse.
I was fascinated by how deliberately Alibaba has built an entire ecosystem. Their story isn’t just about e-commerce — it’s about building an infrastructure that powers trade:
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Lazada as their foothold in Southeast Asia
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Strategic acquisitions and partnerships in Europe
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Cainiao Network, their logistics empire, designed to optimize last-mile delivery
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Investment in smart mobility and smart city initiatives, helping governments digitize services and making cities more efficient
For me, this wasn’t just a corporate visit — it was an education in what it takes to build something that lasts, something that changes how millions of people live and work.
Apsara Conference 2025 – Learning from the Future
From September 24 to 26, I joined the Apsara Conference — Alibaba’s annual flagship tech event.
This is where Alibaba shows its vision for the future: cloud computing, AI, big data, IoT, smart logistics — everything that will define the next decade of business.
This year’s big theme? Agentic AI.
Alibaba positioned its flagship AI model, Qwen3-Max, as the “Android of the AI era.” They are moving beyond AI that just answers questions to AI that can act autonomously, make decisions, and work alongside humans as agents.
Some of the key announcements that caught my attention:
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Qwen3-Max, a trillion-parameter model for advanced reasoning
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Multimodal models like Qwen3-VL (text + image) and Qwen3-Omni (text, image, audio, video)
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New Alibaba Cloud data centers planned in Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Dubai
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Ultra-fast infrastructure improvements like vector bucket storage and container auto-scaling of up to 15,000 pods per minute
This wasn’t just a tech showcase — it was a vision of what’s coming next.
Leadership Reflections and A Call to Action
This journey wasn’t just about meetings, flights, or sightseeing. It was about learning — from Shanghai’s energy, from the Great Wall’s history, from Alibaba’s ecosystem, and from the bold future outlined at Apsara.
As CEO of PosDIGI, I am leading a company that has grown 50% year-over-year for the past three years. Growth like that comes from more than just good execution — it comes from being willing to learn, adapt, and think ahead.
Visiting Alibaba reminded me that every great company starts with a clear mission and relentless drive.
Walking the Great Wall reminded me that building something that lasts takes patience, collaboration, and courage.
And attending Apsara reminded me that the future waits for no one — we must be ready to experiment, to fail fast, to try again, and to lead.
To my readers: The era of agentic AI is not coming — it is already here.
The question is not whether AI will change your business, but whether you will be the one leading that change.
So, ask yourself:
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Are you ready to work with AI as a partner, not just a tool?
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Are you building ecosystems that can scale, like Alibaba did?
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Are you preparing your people to thrive in this new era?
Because the companies — and leaders — who say yes to these questions will be the ones shaping the next chapter of our world.