Indonesia’s unicorn marketplace Bukalapak has announced on Monday that financier Rachmat Kaimuddin will replace co-founder Achmad Zaky as the new CEO of the company, starting from January 2020.
The company said on its press release that changing its management is part of Bukalapak’s latest move to prepare the company to its second decade of existence and to realize its sustainable e-commerce business mission.
Kaimuddin previously served as director for finance and planning for Indonesia’s Bank Bukopin. He received his Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, and his Master of Business Administration from Stanford University, California.
“It is very humbling to be trusted by Bukalapak’s Founders to succeed in Zaky’s critical role in the company and become part of its next growth chapter. I believe Bukalapak is the place where I can work with friends and colleagues to make positive changes for the nation and its people. I hope to bring Bukalapak to make an even greater impact on Indonesia,” Kaimuddin said.
Zaky will remain on board as an advisor and tech startup mentor, and will also be the chairman of the soon-to-be established Achmad Zaky Foundation, said the company.
“We started Bukalapak with a personal passion, to provide positive impacts to MSMEs. I am proud that within 10 years, Bukalapak is now on the global map as a leading Indonesian e-commerce. Now, I am bringing in Rachmat who will take Bukalapak to our next level of greatness. We believe Rachmat is the right person, in the right team for the right job, at the right time,” Zaky said in the press release.
In October, Bukalapak closed its Series F round where South-Korean based Shinhan GIB became new investor. This brought Bukalapak’s valuation to over USD 2.5 billion, according to a press statement by Shinhan GIB.
The platform is also backed by Indonesia’s media conglomerate Emtek group, which owned a 35.22% stake in the company, according to the financial report in September 2019. Other investors are Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, and South Korea’s Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund.
