CEO Insights Magazine

Nurul Intan Kartika Sari

Former President Director & Country Manager

After more than two decades in healthcare and medical technology, former Envista Holdings Corporation Indonesia President Director and Country Manager Nurul Intan Kartika Sari now defines leadership through purpose, compassion, stewardship, and service. In this exclusive interaction with CEO Insights Asia, Nurul Intan Kartika Sari reflects on a journey that has redefined success, sharing the experiences, values, and life lessons that continue to shape her purpose-driven approach to leadership, service, and creating a lasting impact for future generations. Let’s read on.

What has been the most defining chapter of your life over the past few years?

A few years ago, I would have defined it through business growth and organisational success. I genuinely loved corporate life - the pace, challenge, responsibility, and privilege of leading talented teams. But life prepared me for a different definition of leadership.

In 2022, I lost my younger sister, a dedicated pediatrician, after a courageous battle with cancer while receiving treatment in the United States. Watching someone devoted to healing children face her own illness with extraordinary courage reshaped how I understood strength, purpose, and the fragility of life.

In mid-2025, I lost my best friend, an exceptional surgeon. During this same period, the beloved uncle I have always regarded as my father and lovingly called Daddy was facing a serious illness, while my beloved aunt, whom I lovingly call MamaH, was beginning another courageous journey after her cancer returned.

By the end of 2024, I began to feel a quiet but undeniable calling to return to where I was needed most. Over the months that followed, that conviction grew stronger, and in 2025 I made the conscious decision to step away from my corporate role and take a career break. It was not stepping away from leadership; it was a deeply personal calling to lead differently - to be fully present for the people who mattered most.

What inspired your decision to step away from corporate responsibilities?

It was difficult because I was stepping away, for a time, from a professional world I deeply loved. But time is the one resource we cannot recover. Another meeting can be rescheduled; presence cannot always be postponed.

That chapter taught me that achievement without compassion is incomplete and success without purpose is hollow. Today, my leadership philosophy is rooted in empathy, integrity, humility, service, and humanity.

What is the long-term vision behind PetLove Center?

PetLove Center grew from our family’s long-standing commitment to animal welfare. It began by helping abandoned, injured, neglected, and forgotten animals. One rescue became another, then a small shelter, and eventually three shelters. We realised rescue alone was not enough; many animals needed medical care, surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term treatment. That need inspired PetLove Center.

Today, under my sister Grace’s leadership, PetLove Center combines professional veterinary care with a broader mission of compassion. Our Bali branch expands that mission. We hope to become one of Indonesia’s most trusted veterinary clinics while promoting responsible pet ownership, supporting rescue organisations, and reminding communities that the way we care for animals reflects our humanity.

What inspired Mandala – The Home of Indonesian Art in Ubud?

Mandala is the continuation of a dream envisioned by my beloved Daddy, Helmut Paasch, & Mama Henny. For decades, our family has collected important works of Indonesian art, including pieces that travelled beyond Indonesia. Their dream has always been to bring Indonesian art home - not simply to possess it, but to reconnect it with the culture, history, and identity it represents.

Together with my sister Grace, my role is to carry forward and deliver their vision and mission. Located in Ubud, Bali, Mandala is envisioned as more than a private museum - a place for education, research, reflection, and cultural appreciation.

To me, cultural preservation is stewardship. We do not truly own heritage; we hold it in trust for those who come after us.

How do your family’s philanthropic initiatives complement one another?

Healthcare, humanitarian work, animal welfare, and cultural preservation may appear different, but to our family they express the same purpose: compassion, gratitude, and responsibility.

Healthcare teaches us to protect life. Humanitarian work preserves dignity. Animal welfare teaches us to care for those who cannot speak for themselves. Cultural preservation reminds us to protect the identity entrusted to each generation. Our family has been blessed with many opportunities, and we believe every blessing carries a responsibility to give back.

How do you define success today?

Earlier in my career, I measured success through professional milestones. Today, I ask a different question: “Whose life became better because I was here?”

Purpose gives achievement meaning, while social impact allows success to outlive us. Success is not the height of the mountain we climb. It is the number of people we help climb with us.

What advice would you offer leaders?

Ambition drives innovation and progress, but it should never come at the expense of the people who matter most. Balance is not giving equal attention to everything; it is recognising what matters most in each season and giving it your full presence.

Careers evolve and titles change, but character, relationships, and the way we make others feel endure. At the end of our careers, people may not remember how powerful we were. They will remember how deeply we cared.

What are you most excited to pursue next?

Healthcare remains deeply important to me. I am excited by organisations that combine commercial excellence with a genuine commitment to people and society. The past few years have made me more intentional and more conscious that lasting success must include both performance and purpose. I am not simply searching for the next position.

I am searching for the next opportunity to create meaningful impact, develop future leaders, and contribute to organisations that leave a positive legacy. Alongside my professional journey, I will continue supporting our family’s initiatives in healthcare, philanthropy, animal welfare, and cultural preservation.

What legacy would you like to leave behind?

Much of the person and leader I am today was shaped by three extraordinary people. From Daddy, Helmut Paasch, I learned resilience, strategic thinking, perseverance, and one principle he repeated throughout my life: “Don’t burn bridges.”

To him, this was never just about networking. Relationships are among the most valuable things we build. Businesses change, positions come and go, and paths may cross again. Trust, reputation, and mutual respect take a lifetime to build and only a moment to damage. Daddy taught me to disagree without destroying respect, move forward without bitterness, and never sacrifice a long-term relationship for a short-term victory.

Character is revealed not only by how we build relationships, but by how we leave them. From Mama Henny, I learned grace, generosity, optimism, and quiet strength. From Mama Fatimah, I learned humility, perseverance, unconditional love, and the importance of remaining grounded regardless of success. Together, they shaped both the leader and the human being I strive to become.

Their greatest inheritance was never material. It was the values by which I choose to live. If my journey encourages others to lead with integrity, protect the relationships they build, choose purpose over prestige, and use success to create opportunities for others, I will consider that a legacy worth leaving.

Nurul Intan Kartika Sari, Former President Director & Country Manager, Envista Holdings Corporation Indonesia

Nurul Intan Kartika Sari is a healthcare leader with more than two decades of experience in healthcare and medical technology. She holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Universitas Pancasila and an MBA in Strategic Management from Universitas Gadjah Mada. Most recently, she served as President Director and Country Manager of Envista Holdings Corporation Indonesia. She also supports family initiatives in healthcare, philanthropy, animal welfare through PetLove Center, and cultural preservation through Mandala – The Home of Indonesian Art in Ubud, Bali.