By Apoorva Babu

Gojek founder and former CEO, Nadiem Makarim has today been appointed to a role within the Indonesian government as Minister of Education and Culture.

Nadiem’s departure from Gojek has seen Kevin Aluwi and Andre Soelistyo take over responsibility for running the company as co-CEOs, with a focus on ensuring the long term sustainability of the business. Nadiem, Andre and Kevin have been running the business together for a number of years, which will ensure that this leadership transition will run smoothly.

Nadiem’s news was communicated in an email to all Gojek staff that was sent today. In the email, he looked back on how the company has grown over the past nine years and also set out his hopes for the future of the business:

“We started this company with nothing, other than a deep desire to change things for the better. We saw that the streets of Jakarta were a mess and that there was an informal community of ojek drivers who could easily act as a huge part of the solution to that mess, if only they were organised and working efficiently.

“With just that initial desire to improve life for everyone, as well as a large amount of support from countless friends, partners and stakeholders, we’ve created Gojek. An iconic company that flies the flag for the future of Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

“I will leave Gojek in the capable hands of Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi as co-CEOs, both of whom have played central roles in moving the company along its path from that office in South Jakarta onto the global stage.

“We got very lucky as we progressed along that path, but I believe that luck in business only really becomes a valuable commodity if you have the brilliant minds needed to take advantage of it. Kevin and Andre have mentored me to be the leader I am today. They are quite simply Gojek’s best. They have been running this company for a number of years and I have complete faith not just in their technical skills and ability to execute flawlessly, but also in their integrity and their desire to do the right thing every step of the way.

“High emotions are involved in running a company like Gojek but Andre and Kevin are always the steady voices of reason, approaching problems with intelligence and compassion. I couldn’t ask for better successors as the Gojek movement begins its next stage of growth.”

A joint statement released by Andre and Kevin said: “When a friend and mentor leaves a business you have built together, there is always going to be some sadness, but we are both determined that Gojek will go from strength to strength. We will continue to implement our vision as we focus on what the Gojek of the next ten years is going to be like.

“This company has changed the lives of so many people in Indonesia and around the region, and our key priority is to ensure that we can continue to act as a positive force in society for the foreseeable future.”

Under Andre and Kevin’s management, Gojek has grown exponentially, to process over two billion transactions a year. The company’s fundraising efforts have attracted some of the world’s most exciting companies including Google, Tencent, Mitsubishi, Visa, AIA and Astra, with Series F set to raise well over US$2bn. The company has also launched operations in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, while the Gojek app has become the most-used on-demand application in Indonesia, where its food and payments businesses have overtaken transport to become the largest businesses within the group.

With the new structure, Andre will focus on corporate functions and management of capital allocation, international expansion as well as the payments and financial services businesses, while Kevin will focus on the product development elements of the Gojek business as well as marketing, organisational development and the transportation and food delivery businesses.

Since co-founding Gojek, Kevin has held significant leadership roles across product and functional teams within the organisation. He has used his background in Business Intelligence to pioneer the use of data for decision-making across the Gojek business. He has also assembled deep technology expertise across the data, engineering and product teams, with a focus on enhancing the platform’s overall user experience. Prior to his role at Gojek, Kevin spent time at Zalora Indonesia, Merah Putih Incubator and Salem Partners.

Similarly, Andre has played a pivotal role in laying a solid foundation for Gojek’s rapid growth. He has overseen over US$4bn of fundraising, which attracted key investors such as Google, Tencent, Astra, KKR and Warburg Pincus. He has also laid the foundation for the company’s business strategy for long term sustainability. Prior to joining Gojek, Andre was an Executive Director at Northstar Group — Indonesia’s largest private equity fund, and was previously the Head of Corporate Finance at Delta Dunia Makmur.

Leading the next phase of Gojek — a statement from Gojek Co-CEOs, Kevin Aluwi and Andre Soelistyo

Gojek’s new co-CEOs Kevin Aluwi and Andre Soelistyo have today released a statement following the announcement that Founder Nadiem Makarim has accepted a position in President Joko Widodo’s new cabinet.

Andre and Kevin have been running the business along with Nadiem, for a number of years, which will ensure a smooth leadership transition. In addition, it has today been revealed that Gojek commissioner Garibaldi Thohir will become President Commissioner to lead the company’s non-executive board. Nadiem will no longer retain any executive or advisory role in the company.

Under Kevin and Andre’s management, Gojek has grown exponentially to process over two billion transactions a year. The company’s fundraising efforts have attracted some of the world’s most exciting companies including Google, Tencent, Mitsubishi, Visa, AIA and Astra, with Series F set to raise well over US$2 billion. The company has also launched operations in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, while the Gojek app has become the most-used on-demand application in Indonesia, where its food and payments businesses have overtaken transport to become the largest businesses within the group.

The joint statement said:

“We would both like to thank Nadiem for his vision and for working with us over the past few years to create something that has become bigger and more impactful than any of us ever imagined. We are very proud and honored that our founder will move on to create impact at a larger scale, benefiting the whole nation.

“Nadiem leaves after an amazing nine years spent building the company from just an idea, into a multi-billion dollar business that reduces friction in the lives of people throughout Southeast Asia, while providing a source of income for millions. His achievements have been a source of inspiration to everyone at Gojek and he leaves the business at a time when there’s never been more excitement about its future potential. We now have over two million driver partners across Southeast Asia and over 500,000 merchants, all of whom together process over two billion transactions annually.

“Both of us have been running the Gojek business alongside Nadiem for some time, so there will be no disruption to the day to day operations or the amazing growth we have enjoyed over the years. Andre will focus on corporate functions and management of capital allocation, international expansion as well as payments and financial services, while Kevin will focus on the product development elements of the Gojek business as well as marketing, organisational development and the transportation and food delivery businesses.

“We are well prepared for the future and this is due in large part to the many outstanding industry leaders that have joined us over the past few years, and the collective vision and execution of the entire Gojek team.

“We would like to conclude by thanking the government of Indonesia for recognising the significance our business has had on society. We will respect the process the Palace has set out by not going into too much detail before tomorrow’s inauguration. We would also like to wish Nadiem the very best of luck as he embarks on this very important mission.”

Similarly, Andre has played a pivotal role in laying a solid foundation for Gojek’s rapid growth. He has overseen over US$4 billion of fundraising, which attracted key investors such as Google, Tencent, Astra, KKR and Warburg Pincus. He has also laid the foundation for the company’s business strategy for long term sustainability. Prior to joining Gojek, Andre was an Executive Director at Northstar Group — Indonesia’s largest private equity fund, and was previously the Head of Corporate Finance at Delta Dunia Makmur.

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A number of Gojek investors have expressed support for the new arrangement:

Caesar Sengupta, General Manager and VP, Payments and Next Billion Users, Google said, “Gojek continues to innovate on behalf of millions of users, and are a leading light in Indonesia’s new economy. We look forward to continuing to partner closely with Andre and Kevin as they take over leadership of this Indonesian champion.”

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Poshu Yeung, Vice President, International Business Group of Tencent said, “We wish Nadiem all the best as he moves into his new role, and congratulate Andre and Kevin on their new appointment. Gojek has achieved market leadership in the ride-hailing market in Indonesia and is expanding its leadership in various verticals such as food delivery and digital payments. We look forward to partnership with Andre and Kevin, and believe that their leadership will bring Gojek to the next level of development in Indonesia and beyond in Southeast Asia.”

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Jeffrey Perlman, Managing Director, Head of Southeast Asia, Warburg Pincus said, “Andre and Kevin are exceptional talents and have been playing a key role in driving Gojek’s growth. We have seen firsthand the leadership transition and seamless execution as they have been working closely to grow the business into the size and scale that it is today.

“I have a lot of respect for Nadiem and would definitely like to applaud him on his mission to improve lives across Indonesia and I am very confident that Gojek will continue to thrive and develop into a true global player in the capable hands of Andre and Kevin.”

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Ashish Shastry, Co-Head of Asia Pacific Private Equity and Head of Southeast Asia at KKR said, “Gojek has seen phenomenal expansion across verticals both in Indonesia and overseas in recent years, in large part to the company’s impressive management team and deep bench of committed and talented executives. We congratulate Andre, Kevin and Nadiem on each of their new roles within and outside Gojek, and we’re excited to see the company continue to pursue its bold vision for growth under the very capable leadership of Andre and Kevin. On a personal note, I’ve known Andre, Kevin and Nadiem from pre Gojek days and I’m very confident that they will all deliver lasting impact in their new roles.”

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Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore said, “Andre and Kevin are both dynamic, mission-driven leaders who we have worked closely with for several years; they have played a critical role in driving Gojek’s trajectory and execution. Gojek has made an incredible impact in Indonesia since we partnered with the company in 2015, touching the lives of millions of consumers and adding billions to the country’s economy. We couldn’t be more optimistic about the company’s future and its continued positive impact to Indonesia’s economy and society. We are grateful to Nadiem for his visionary leadership of Gojek since its founding, but we are equally optimistic that Andre and Kevin will lead the company to newer heights.”

About Gojek:

Gojek is a Super App. It’s one app for ordering food, commuting, digital payments, shopping, hyper-local delivery, getting a massage and two dozen services. It is Indonesia’s first and fastest-growing unicorn building an on-demand empire across Southeast Asia.

The Gojek app was launched in 2015, and is now the largest consumer transactional technology group on a GTV-basis in Southeast Asia.

As of June 2019, the Super App and its ecosystem have been downloaded by more than 155 million users across the region, with more than 2 million driver partners registered, up to 500,000 merchant partners, and over 60,000 service providers.

For media queries, contact apoorva.babu@go-jek.com.