Purnomo Yusgiantoro is the Founder of the Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC). He received his bachelor degree (Ir) in Petroleum Engineering from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia; MSc in Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, USA; MA in Economics from University of Colorado, USA; and PhD in Mineral Economics from Colorado School of Mines, USA. Since 2014, Purnomo dedicates much of his time, knowledge, and skills to teach the subject of energy economics at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). Also, Purnomo is the Co-founder of Universitas Pertahanan (Unhan), Indonesia, where he teaches the subject of energy security until now. He is now a senior advisor for Executive Office of the President Republic of Indonesia.

He has vast experiences working and contributing in the energy and defense sector of Indonesia. He worked as a consultant for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the field of energy economics and sustainable development. He also acted as the Chairman of Board of Commissioners for Pertamina. Purnomo also has held a position as Vice Governor of National Defense Agencies (Lemhannas). Purnomo was the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Republic of Indonesia for three consecutive terms, from year 2000 until 2009. He also held the position of Minister of Defense of Republic of Indonesia between 2009 and 2014. In the global sphere, Purnomo served as the Governor of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its Secretary General as well as President, based in Vienna, Austria. He also carried the responsibility as the Chairman of the ASEAN Ministers of Energy Meeting (AMEM). He continues his devotion to the energy sector development by establishing PYC in 2016.