GoTo’s CEO is stepping down on June 30. Here’s his farewell letter to staff

Andre Soelistyo (third from left) when GoTo went public on April 11, 2022./ Photo credit: GoTo

Andre Soelistyo is stepping down as CEO of GoTo Group on June 30. Patrick Walujo, managing partner of Northstar Group and a commissioner at GoTo, is set to replace him.

Below is Soelistyo’s farewell letter to staff, which has been slightly edited to align with our style standards.

Dear People of GoTo,

Being part of GoTo always brings forth so many different emotions. As I sit here today, my main feeling is an immense sense of pride in what we have all built and stood for over the years.

GoTo as a company has always embraced change. Change brings innovation, flexibility, agility, and rejuvenation – it is the fuel on which success runs. In the past few weeks and months, as we have shown great momentum (evidenced by the progress we made toward profitability and the product solutions we shipped to further solve our customer problems), I continue to reflect on what my role should be over the months and years ahead as we prepare for the next stage in the company’s development.

On June 30, 2023, I will officially step down as CEO of GoTo, assuming a role as a commissioner and deputy chairman of our board of commissioners, which will allow me to focus on supervising and advising the company on its strategic direction.

Over the past year, we’ve made significant strides in building a stronger company. We’ve improved our financial stability despite the economic downturn. We became better in generating 10x product ideas and then delivering them to our customers with better precision and higher quality standards. And with the ongoing development of capable leaders, we’ve also established a better bench for the regeneration of leaders.

We have always talked about professionalizing the company so that it can move beyond its founders, giving a new generation of leaders the space to lead with confidence. With this in mind, Patrick Walujo – who, as a current GoTo commissioner, is not new to our company – will take on the CEO role, executing the plan we have all built, together with our leaders and all of you. I will continue to be involved on a broader, more strategic level.

But today is not about me, it’s about us. It’s about how we, together, through an amazing roller-coaster ride have built something that we can all be proud of.

I remember clearly that first conversation over coffee with Nadiem and Kevin in 2014; it all started with a simple idea and a big dream. We shipped the first Gojek app to customers in January 2015. We couldn’t believe that we kept surpassing our month-to-month goals despite all the constraints we were faced with. We couldn’t believe how our idea was able to change the way people live their day-to-day lives in Indonesia, how it brought our drivers, merchants, and communities together and raised their standing in society from informal or underserved to be part of the formal economy. We couldn’t believe that we could join forces with Tokopedia, scaling our impact even more, becoming a company that has changed the world. And then we managed to do the impossible, becoming a public company during the most challenging times globally. I am proud that we continue to stay true to our beliefs, making the impossible possible.

On the product side, we have continued to create excellent technology-driven solutions to solve our users’ problems and enhance their day-to-day experiences. And doing so with great care toward trust and reliability, even at the scale of our combined platforms, which puts us into the top 10 globally in terms of number of daily transactions. Even before the formation of GoTo, both Gojek and Tokopedia shared this passion, leading us to join forces to co-create something even more magical, becoming the first tech ecosystem that combines on-demand services, ecommerce, and fintech.

From a humble idea, we have grown to be among the largest companies in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, globally acknowledged not just for our achievements but also for our mission.

For this, I will always be proud. Proud that we have shown that a successful company can also be a genuine force for good. Proud that we have created opportunities for driver-partners, who are now a driving force of the Indonesian economy. Proud that we have enabled many small and medium entrepreneurs to compete with large enterprises and even thrive during the pandemic and beyond. We have elevated the well-being of millions of people through our ecosystem. All of this has only been possible because we are a company that leads with heart.