Nadiem Makarim, founder and CEO of Indonesian startup decacorn Gojek, confirmed today that he has resigned from his leadership post at the tech company to fill up an undisclosed position at President Joko Widodo’s new cabinet.
“This is an incredible honor to be asked to join the President’s cabinet,” Nadiem said today after being summoned to the Presidential Palace in Jakarta earlier today, as quoted by Tempo.
“We have yet to discuss the specific position, because it’s the President’s prerogative right.”
Nadiem also confirmed during the occasion that he has resigned from his position as Gojek’s CEO as of today.
In a statement received by Coconuts Jakarta, Gojek’s Chief Corporate Affairs, Nila Marita, announced that leadership of the Indonesian company will be taken over by Andre Soelistyo and Kevin Aluwi, who will both serve as co-CEO of Gojek. Andre was previously President of Gojek group, whereas Kevin is one of Gojek’s co-founders.
Gojek, which is currently valued at US$10 billion, raised over US$1 billion earlier this year from multiple backers, including Alphabet’s Google and Chinese tech giant Tencent.
President Jokowi, as he is more commonly referred to in the Southeast Asian country, is expected to announce his cabinet today. He was sworn in for a second term on Sunday, alongside new Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, officially marking the beginning of their five-year tenure leading the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.
However, a report from Reuters indicates that President Jokowi may delay his cabinet announcement until Wednesday morning, quoting former head of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD, who said he was interviewed for a post at the palace today.
