Coworking Space Provider Startup CoHive Appoints New CEO

CoHive announced the appointment of Chris Angkasa as the new CEO, replacing Jason Lee, who is now the president position at the startup that provides the coworking space (co-working space). Chris Angkasa, among others, is known as an angel investor in the Indonesian startup ecosystem.

He is familiar with the coworking space industry since he founded the Clapham Collective in Medan in 2015. Post-Merger between Clapham and CoHive (then EV Hive) in 2017, Chris continues to be involved at CoHive as a member of the company’s Advisory Board.

“It is an honor to be trusted to lead CoHive during the most difficult times for the coworking space industry. Now is a time never imagined before, not only for CoHive, but also for all other players in the coworking space industry as well as strategic partners and building owners,” said Chris Angkasa in a written statement on Wednesday (16/12/2020).

Current conditions, according to Chris, force coworking space industry players to think about ways to adapt to the changing business landscape. “Like the members of CoHive users, we also have to adapt. I believe that CoHive will not only survive the pandemic but will develop more rapidly,” said Chris emphasized.

Providing Coworking Space since 2015

CoHive is one of the first startups to provide coworking space in Indonesia. Born as EV Hive in 2015, CoHive, which started as an internal East Ventures project, aims to provide a community hub for entrepreneurs and startups to start and grow their businesses.

Now it is present in 30 locations spread across Jakarta, Tangerang, Medan, Yogyakarta and Surabaya. CoHive Founding Chairman Willson Weather expressed his appreciation to Jason for all his achievements.

“CoHive has grown strongly under his leadership. I am sure Chris, who has been a part of CoHive for the past 3 years, can build on this milestone and take it to the next level,” said Willson. The shift in leadership at CoHive, according to Willson, is a sign that every different era needs a fresh perspective.

“This pandemic has forced us to adopt new ways of working. Amid the challenges and changes that arise during the pandemic and the coming recovery period, we are confident that Chris will ensure CoHive continues to innovate, adapt and thrive,” said Willson.

Not Expanding in the Middle of a Pandemic

Although it is too early to say that the Covid-19 outbreak can change the way work from home (WFH) works permanently, it must be admitted that WFH will become a trend and become more widely applied. Not only that, but it is also interesting to observe how reliable co-working spaces are in the coming months related to the WFH phenomenon.

Ex CEO and Co-founder of CoHive Jason Lee said, through WFH’s experience, people don’t have to go back and forth to sit side by side all day long in the head office or conventional offices. Nor do companies need to constantly monitor employee productivity, or to make sure they don’t delay work.

“So the distribution of employees according to selected locations close to the residence is the answer,” said Jason, Thursday (28/5/2020).

Facing the new normal, CoHive will not rush into sporadic expansion, although the demand for shared office space shows an increasing trend in line with WFH habits. According to him, decision making for expansion from it is always based on medium and long term trends and is not affected by seasonal or short-term dynamics.

Until April 2020, it already has a co-working space of 75,000 square meters spread across 33 locations in Indonesia, namely in the cities of Jakarta, Medan, Yogyakarta, Bali and Surabaya. Although not yet expanding, CoHive continues to implement the regulations and policies imposed by the Government.