Garuda’s Foreign Directors Signal Major Shift in Indonesia’s SOE Policy Under Prabowo

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JAKARTA, investortrust.id — National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, one of the country’s largest state-owned airlines, has appointed two foreign nationals to its board of directors, marking a major shift in Indonesia’s state enterprise policy under President Prabowo Subianto.

The appointments of Balagopal Kunduvara as director of finance and risk management and Neil Raymond Mills as director of transformation came after a special shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025. The move followed Prabowo’s new regulation allowing expatriates to serve in top management positions of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), a change aimed at boosting efficiency and global competitiveness.

President Prabowo said the reform was part of a broader effort to professionalize and streamline Indonesia’s vast SOE network. “I have changed the regulation so that expatriates or non-Indonesian nationals can now lead our SOEs. I am very enthusiastic about this change,” he stated at the Forbes Global CEO Conference at The St. Regis, Jakarta.

The President also directed the state investment agency, the National Sovereign Wealth Fund Danantara, to apply international governance standards across its portfolio and to recruit “the best and brightest global talents” to strengthen Indonesia’s strategic assets.

Danantara CEO Rosan Perkasa Roeslani confirmed that the management overhaul at Garuda Indonesia was part of this wider restructuring plan. “We want to strengthen Garuda in every aspect, from its financials to its planning and operations,” Rosan said on Wednesday evening.

“We have already injected US$405 million in fresh capital, and we are prepared to add more, provided that all plans are executed effectively.”

Rosan emphasized that bringing in foreign executives showed Danantara’s serious intent to turn around Garuda’s performance. “This demonstrates that we are not doing things halfway. The appointment of expatriates is a deliberate effort to enhance management capacity and transformation,” he said.

According to Rosan, the decision was the outcome of a year-long evaluation conducted with specialized aviation advisors. “After thorough analysis over the past year, we concluded that strengthening the management team was crucial for executing Garuda’s recovery plan,” he explained.

At the same shareholders’ meeting, Garuda also appointed Glenny H. Kairupan—formerly a commissioner and a graduate of the Indonesian Military Academy (Akabri) class of 1970—as president director, replacing Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan. Thomas Sugiarto Oentoro was named vice president director.

The current board and commissioners are as follows:

Board of Commissioners

• President Commissioner & Independent: Fadjar Prasetyo
• Commissioners: Chairal Tanjung, Frans Dicky Tamara
• Independent Commissioner: Mawardi Yahya

Board of Directors

• President Director: Glenny H. Kairupan
• Vice President Director: Thomas Sugiarto Oentoro
• Director of Finance & Risk Management: Balagopal Kunduvara
• Director of Commerce: Reza Aulia Hakim
• Director of Operations: Dani Haikal Iriawan
• Director of Engineering: Mukhtaris
• Director of Human Capital & Corporate Service: Eksitarino Irianto
• Director of Transformation: Neil Raymond Mills

The policy shift allowing foreign leadership in SOEs reflects Prabowo’s ambition to cut Indonesia’s state-owned firms from over 1,000 to about 200 high-performing entities under Danantara’s oversight. The president has said this consolidation will create “leaner, more agile” enterprises capable of competing globally.

Garuda Indonesia, which reported Rp 17.76 trillion in revenue in the first half of 2025, is considered a test case for the new policy. Its ongoing restructuring and capital injection by Danantara will determine whether the strategy can help transform state-owned enterprises into globally competitive players.