Australian national appointed as CEO of state-owned resource-export company; Golkar secretary-general says Prabowo intends to break the chain of collusion

JAKARTA — Golkar Secretary-General Sarmuji responded to the appointment of Australian citizen Luke Thomas Mahony as Chief Executive Officer of PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI). A member of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives believes the decision was taken because President Prabowo Subianto wants to break up practices of collusion and the chain of connivance in the management of natural resource exports (SDA). ‘The President may intend to break the chain of collusion involving nepotism. With Luke Thomas as the CEO, the pathways for nepotism are likely to be reduced,’ Sarmuji said when contacted on Friday (22 May 2026). ‘Competence and integrity are key because PT DSI will manage the sale of very large resources. The aim is to prevent further embezzlement,’ Sarmuji said. The appointment was disclosed by Danantara Indonesia’s CEO Rosan Roeslani during a visit to the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (21 May 2026). ‘For now, Luke Thomas is the CEO of PT DSI,’ Rosan said. Luke Thomas Mahony is an Australian national who previously served as SEVP, Business Performance & Optimisation at Danantara Indonesia since September 2025. He has more than 21 years of experience in the mining industry. Before joining Danantara, Luke Thomas Mahony served as Chief Strategy and Technical Officer at PT Vale Indonesia Tbk from July 2024 to September 2025. At that company, he briefly served as Chief Technical Officer from December 2022 to February 2024. Additionally, he worked at BHP Billiton from July 2010 to July 2014, most recently as Manager Production Prestrip. In terms of education, Luke Thomas Mahony holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from the University of New South Wales. He also holds three master’s degrees from the same campus: Master of Finance (2004), Master of Mining Engineering (2006), and Master of Geomechanics (2009).