Rio Ferdinand Kiantara

Rio Ferdinand Kiantara founded K&A with a singular conviction: that data and artificial intelligence, applied with integrity, can be transformative forces for businesses and governments across emerging economies. An accountant by training and a technologist by pursuit, Rio works at the intersection of institutional governance, public-sector capability-building, and applied AI — a combination that gives K&A its distinctive edge.

Rio holds a Master of Engineering in AI System Design and Management from Keio University in Japan, and a Bachelor of Economics with a specialization in forensic accounting from Universitas Indonesia, complemented by a business exchange at the University of Birmingham under the Erasmus+ programme. This academic arc — from accounting forensics to AI engineering — shapes his approach: rigorous, evidence-based, and always oriented toward operationalisable outcomes.

Beyond K&A, Rio serves as Head of Research at ASEAN-BAC LENS, an initiative spotlighting policy innovation and best practices across Southeast Asia, and is a Partner at Pusat Statistik Research, where he applies Input-Output economic models to simulate the impact of Web3 and Generative AI adoption on national economies in collaboration with BPS Indonesia and Universitas Indonesia. He previously served as Secretary General for Membership Services at KORIKA, Indonesia's AI association, and held a Product Manager role at Shopee in Trust and Safety, where he led AI-enabled content safety initiatives that reduced error rates by over 80%.

Rio is a recipient of the Southeast Asia Young Innovation Award 2024, the Indotech Impact Challenge 2024, and the National Best Young Professional Award 2019, and has presented research at international academic forums including the 3rd International Call for Papers JCLI.