The Trend of Former Public Officials Joining Startups Continues

Friday (30/4), Bukalapak held a General Meeting of Shareholders (GMS) which was attended by the board of directors and shareholders. CEO-led event Bukalapak Rachmat Kaimuddin, in addition to describing business performance throughout 2020, also announced the appointment of Former Minister of Research and Technology/BRIN Bambang Brodjonegoro as President Commissioner and Yenny Wahid as Commissioner.

This adds to the long list of former government officials entering the startup ecosystem. In addition to these two names, according to our records, there are a number of former officials who now occupy similar positions in startups and venture capitalists, including:

As known, commissioner tasked with supervising company policies, monitoring company performance, and providing advice to the board of directors. This position is important in startups, considering that many of them are indeed trying to democratize regulated sectors – such as finance, transportation, and trade. However, not all serve as commissioners (one of their rights can follow voting), several others were appointed as advisors (do not have voting power).

The presence of former public officials can also be seen as a startup effort to be able to fully comply with regulations, including understanding the rules that are set in depth and providing preventive directions so that serious problems do not occur.