Andre Soelistyo from Gojek and Patrick Cao from Tokopedia lead GoTo

Two national technology companies, Gojek and Tokopedia, officially merged to form the GoTo Group. Following the merger, the company appointed Andre Soelistyo from Gojek as CEO of the GoTo Group and Patrick Cao from Tokopedia as President of GoTo.

“This is the next step in an extraordinary journey for Gojek and Tokopedia, and I thank you for being given the confidence to lead the GoTo Group,” said Andre in an official statement, Monday (17/5).

Based on his LinkedIn profile, Andre studied at the University of Technology, Sydney. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSc) in 2005.

Andre started his career at Triputra Group as a management trainee from 2005 to 2008. He was then a director by PT Delta Dunia Makmur in 2009. At PT Delta Dunia Makmur, Tbk he served as Head of Corporate Finance for two years.

In 2016, Andre joined Gojek as President. After Nadiem Makarim became Minister of Education and Culture, Andre and Kevin Aluwi co-chaired Gojek since October 21, 2019.

Apart from being responsible at the group level, Andre will also continue to lead the payments and financial services business called GoTo Financial.

Meanwhile, Patrick Cao is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and Tsinghua University. He has served as President of Tokopedia since 2016.

“We are very excited to start the next chapter of our business history and will continue to innovate to drive more inclusive growth in every sector our technology touches,” Patrick said.

Apart from Andre and Patrick, the GoTo Group also appointed Kevin Aluwi as CEO of Gojek and William Tanuwijaya to remain the CEO of Tokopedia.

The Meaning Behind the Name ‘GoTo’

After the official merger, the decacorn of Tanah Air Gojek and the unicorn of Tanah Air Tokopedia established a joint entity called the GoTo Group. Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwijaya explained the meaning of the name GoTo.

“GoTo comes from the abbreviation Gojek and Tokopedia, also comes from the words ‘gotong royong’, which is the spirit behind unity,” William said as quoted from his personal Facebook account on Monday (17/5).

William also said that the goal of establishing GoTo was to create a large-scale social impact, including targeting the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) market.

“MSMEs can develop their business, and at the same time, provide users with equal access to goods and services throughout the country,” he said.

Gojek CEO Kevin Aluwi also said, GoTo is a combination of two companies that share the same principles, thoughts and work ethic.

“We share the same goal, which is to always provide the best experience for consumers supported by the fastest and largest mobility network,” Kevin said in a press release. GoTo will be led by two representatives of Gojek and Tokopedia.

Will also Target Southeast Asian Market

In the future, GoTo will not only work on the Indonesian market share, but also Southeast Asia. Over the past few years, Gojek has expanded its business to several countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand.

The GoTo Group combines e-commerce services, goods and food delivery, transportation, and finance. For financial services, GoTo Financial will be established which includes GoPay services as well as financial services and business solutions for business partners.

Andre hopes that digital and financial payment services will facilitate community activities and increase financial inclusion. This is because so far there are around 140 million people who have limited access to the financial system in Indonesia.

For more than a decade, Gojek and Tokopedia were formed and opened the benefits of the digital economy in Indonesia and Southeast Asia at various business scales.

In 2015, the two companies collaborated for the first time to accelerate the delivery service of the Tokopedia marketplace using the Gojek driver partner network.