Bukalapak’s departing CEO Achmad Zaky writes to staff

Earlier this week, Bukalapak announced that co-founder Achmad Zaky will step down from the chief executive role. He will be succeeded by Rachmat Kaimuddin, previously the director of finance and planning at Indonesian financial services provider Bank Bukopin.

The changes will take effect on January 6, 2020.

Bukalapak co-founder Achmad Zaky (left) / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

The exiting CEO will still support the ecommerce unicorn as an advisor while establishing his own Achmad Zaky Foundation, which aims to strengthen Indonesia’s tech ecosystem through education and entrepreneurship development.

Here’s the letter he sent to Bukalapak’s employees revealing his departure, in full:

Dear Bukalapak friends,

Ten years ago, the company where you worked right now was just an idea. We never imagined that we could be as big as we are now. At that time, we were just ordinary young people who had neither experience nor money. We started this company with dreams, hopes, and noble intentions. The dreams and noble intentions to not just live for ourselves, but also to support others’ lives.

Today, I feel proud and happy that Bukalapak has benefited millions of people, especially small businesses throughout Indonesia. We have also become more solid from a financial perspective, growing more than 100% and posting EBITDA that continues to improve. I pray that we’ll always have the strength and unity to keep this trust and mandate from the Almighty, forever and ever. Amen.

We would not have been able to earn all of the achievements that we’ve had so far without your hard work and cooperation, dear friends. As the co-founder and the longest-serving employee of the company, I really feel the aura of persistence, cohesiveness, and enthusiasm from you, my friends, to create change for many people. You have been my passion for going to work in the morning and returning late at night. Every time I interacted with you, I became more excited as I always learned new things and got new ideas or suggestions. This connection is why this company gets stronger as time goes on.

I remember our early years when our management style was still “dormitory” style. One time for example, our website was down for three days, but we were still relaxed. Then, we improved it to “shophouse” style. Over time, our management has become more modern, and I can say that this company has adopted the best practices of world-class technology companies. In the name of all co-founders and top management of this company, I want to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude for your infinite contributions, my friends.

As the company matured, we – that’s me and my co-founders Fajrin [Rasjid, president] and Xinuc [Nugroho Herucahyono, chief technology officer] – felt that we needed to make some changes to grow this company so its benefits could be even greater. One of the changes is the regeneration of leadership. Maybe you have felt these changes for the past few years, starting from 2016 (when we grew 5 to 7x a year) with the presence of Willix [Halim] as COO (chief operating officer), then the following years when Natalia [Firmansyah] came in as CFO (chief financial officer), then Teddy [Oetomo] as chief strategy officer, and finally Bagus [Harimawan] as chief talent officer. They are the best executives in their respective fields. We will also continue to accelerate the regeneration of senior and middle management. All of them come from the best companies, and they bring in the best experiences that we can all learn from. Praise be to God, all these transitions went smoothly without any obstacle.

With the same objective, it’s time for me to regenerate myself. I want to inform you that on January 6, 2020, I will hand over the reins of leadership to a new CEO who is more experienced and can bring Bukalapak to the next milestone. Since the beginning of this year, we founders have sought and screened a large number of candidates, and we finally found the choice that we think is right and can carry Bukalapak’s mission to the next level.

He is Muhammad Rachmat Kaimuddin. Rachmat is not new to us; he is an old friend. He has tons of experience in many large companies, from traditional companies to private equity, which observes many companies in various industries. He is also a graduate of world-class educational institutions such as MIT and Stanford. Not only that, but he is also active in several social initiatives, making Rachmat “really Bukalapak.”

We believe that under Rachmat’s leadership, Bukalapak will continue to grow and keep pursuing its mission to spread good things to many people. In the next few weeks, I will introduce Rachmat to each Tribe and Function so they can know him better. This will also help him understand every Tribe and Function in Bukalapak. I hope you will support Rachmat and work well with him, my friends.