March 25, 2025
JAKARTA – Danantara Indonesia, the country’s newly established sovereign wealth fund (SWF), has unveiled a leadership lineup featuring hedge fund titan Ray Dalio, economist Jeffrey Sachs and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The board also includes current or former executives from the World Bank, state-owned Bank Mandiri and the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), the nation’s other SWF.
Analysts view the appointments as an attempt to address concerns over government interference, particularly following the choice of Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani as Danantara’s head, but caution that the fund’s success will hinge more on its execution than on the prominence of its board members.
In February, President Prabowo Subianto picked Rosan to lead Danantara, along with Deputy State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Dony Oskaria as chief operating officer and entrepreneur Pandu Sjahrir, a nephew of National Economic Council chairman and former coordinating minister Luhut Pandjaitan, as chief investment officer.
SOEs Minister Erick Thohir will join Danantara’s supervisory board, as will former Financial Services Authority (OJK) head Muliaman Hadad, who had initially been slated to head the fund.
Dalio, Sachs and Shinawatra are to join the advisory board, along with former Credit Suisse CEO Helman Sitohang and Capital Group equity portfolio manager Chapman Taylor.
Meanwhile, former Indonesian presidents Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will sit on the steering committee.
Danantara has also appointed 10 directors, each overseeing different management aspects.
Among them are Mohamad Al-Arief, an external affairs department head with the World Bank; Ivy Santoso, a former senior consultant to the International Finance Corporation; Lieng-Seng Wee, CEO of consulting firm Dragonfly; and Sanjay Bharwani, president director of talent development firm Bester & Co.
Aside from them, there are also executives from the domestic financial sector, such as Rohan Hafas, director of institutional relations at Bank Mandiri; Ahmad Hidayat, independent commissioner at Bank DBS Indonesia; Ali Setiawan, managing director at HSBC Indonesia; and Arief Budiman, deputy CEO of the INA.
However, the list also features government officials, such as SOEs Ministry undersecretary Robertus Bilitea and Reza Yamora Siregar, a special staffer to the Coordinating Economic Minister.
The risk management committee will be led by Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) president commissioner John Prasetio, while Yup Kim, chief investment officer of the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS), will head the investment and portfolio committee.
Rosan said the selection process was rigorous, with candidates undergoing thorough interviews and assessments conducted with the help of global headhunters, including Egon Zehnder.
“We acknowledge that finding the right people, who have proven expertise while maintaining a clean and clear track record, is not an easy task,” Rosan said on Monday.
Under its managing directors, Danantara will have an operational holding to consolidate all SOEs and a separate investment holding to manage investment funds, including those derived from SOE dividends.
The operational holding will be led by Agus Dwi Handaya, Bank Mandiri’s compliance, legal and human capital director; Febriany Eddy, CEO of PT Vale Indonesia; and Riko Banardi, a risk management professional.
“Once we consolidate all SOEs under the operational holding, we will remap their structure and review existing holding companies,” said Danantara COO Dony Oskaria, who will oversee the operational holding, when asked about the future of current SOE holding companies in sectors such as mining and tourism.
Meanwhile, the investment holding will be led by chief investment officer Pandu Sjahrir alongside Lynx Asia Partners CEO Djamal Attamimi; Assegaf Hamzah & Partners former managing partner Bono Daru Adji; and INA chief investment officer Stefanus Ade Hadiwidjaja.
“For now, our focus will be on food security, energy security, downstream industries and digital infrastructure,” Pandu said.
Building confidence?
Deni Friawan, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), says the appointment of professionals, such as those from the World Bank and the INA, is an attempt by the government to address concerns over Danantara’s governance.
However, he emphasized that the fund’s success would depend on whether these leaders could make sound business decisions free from political interference, rather than on the names themselves.
The government has sent mixed signals about Danantara’s role and investment strategy. President Prabowo’s top advisor, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, suggested that the fund could be a vehicle to attract foreign investors to co-invest on equal terms in local projects.
However, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia took a different stance, insisting that the government did not need foreign investors and pointing to President Prabowo’s directive to use domestic funds in Danantara, particularly for coal gasification projects.
“The appointments alone aren’t enough. What truly matters is how governance is structured and implemented,” Deni told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), expressed doubt that the government could build market confidence, particularly with the inclusion of former Thai prime minister Thaksin.
“He has a track record of corruption and tax evasion cases, such as his 2006 sale of Shin Corp shares to Temasek without paying capital gains tax, as well as a land purchase case in 2008. His appointment could deepen public distrust in Danantara,” Bhima told the Post on Monday.
Andry Satrio Nugroho, head of industry, trade and investment research at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), echoed those concerns, arguing that Thaksin’s controversial past could damage Danantara’s credibility. He also flagged potential conflicts of interest, given that Dalio and Taylor were still active in asset management.
Andry suggested that the high-profile appointments might be little more than a “cosmetic move” to boost investor confidence, as advisory board members hold no operational authority under the law.
“This strategy could backfire, as it might signal that Danantara struggles to attract investors without relying on big names,” Andry warned.
Harry Su, a managing director at Samuel Sekuritas, said that, while the names “look good on paper,” governance remained the most important topic. “That’s why we have to wait until the end of this year to observe whether Danantara will really be free from political interference in its decision-making,” he said in a statement sent to the Post on Monday.