New GoTo CEO Walujo may not stay long, say sources
INCOMING GoTo CEO Patrick Walujo is planning to head the Indonesian technology company only temporarily and resign after improving profitability, as he splits his time between it and a private equity firm he co-founded, sources have said.
The prominent Indonesian dealmaker, whose private equity firm Northstar Group was one of the earliest backers of GoTo’s ride-hailing business Gojek, was named CEO of GoTo last week. GoTo was created in 2021 through a merger of Gojek and e-commerce firm Tokopedia.
Walujo, who continues to manage Northstar, does not plan to stay for a full three-year term as GoTo’s CEO, said three sources, including people briefed by him and company investors.
They declined to be identified because they are not authorised to speak to reporters.
GoTo said that it does not comment on market rumours and speculation, but said in a statement: “His initial term will be set at three years and will commence on Jun 30, subject to shareholder approval.”
Northstar declined to comment.
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The sources said that the length of Walujo’s tenure was likely to depend on how quickly he can trim spending and improve profits.
One source told Reuters he had been told by Walujo that his tenure as CEO could be as short as several months, but could last until the end of 2024 or longer.
The banker, who started his career at Goldman Sachs, has no plans to step down from his role at Northstar, which manages more than US$2.5 billion in equity capital, the sources said.
GoTo, which offers ride-hailing, e-commerce and financial services, went public last year. Its shares have since fallen by more than 60 per cent as a result of fierce competition from rivals such as Sea, Grab and Alibaba’s South-east Asian arm, Lazada.
The Jakarta-headquartered group has undertaken significant cost-cutting; it slashed more than 12 per cent of its workforce last year, and laid off another 600 people in March this year. It had announced before the market downturn it planned to do a dual listing in the US.
Walujo said when his appointment was announced that he would focus on growth and optimise the company’s “profitability strategy” – remarks which sent GoTo shares up 8 per cent. REUTERS
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