Prabowo Appoints Luke Thomas Mahony to Lead Danantara Sumberdaya

President Prabowo Subianto has formally appointed Luke Thomas Mahony to head PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI) as part of an effort to strengthen the governance of exports of national natural resource commodities. The strategic decision was announced after a limited meeting at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

The creation of the single export entity is aimed at curbing leakage of state revenue, according to Investor Daily. The strengthening of the organisational structure is to be pursued through gathering input from various business players and commodity associations in the national strategic sector.

Rosan Roeslani, the CEO of Danantara and simultaneously Investment Minister/Head of BKPM, confirmed the leadership change to reporters after meeting with the head of state. ‘For now, Luke Thomas Mahony,’ said Rosan Roeslani, the Danantara chief executive.

The government has scheduled socialisation and input-gathering sessions with various business organisations such as Kadin, Apindo, APBI, and palm oil associations to finalise the operation of the agency. ‘We just had the meeting earlier. We will listen to input first. Later this afternoon, we will hear from all associations—Kadin, Apindo, the palm oil association APBI, coal, etc.—while we simultaneously conduct the socialisation. So we expect to be ready by 4 o’clock,’ Rosan Roeslani said.

Danantara’s management has not yet detailed the specific reasons behind the selection of Luke Thomas Mahony, though a full disclosure of the management team’s track record will be published in due course. ‘Yes, we are in the stage of strengthening the team. Later we will present the full team. You will be able to see its track record and capabilities, as we did when building Danantara from the start,’ Rosan Roeslani added.

This new institutional legal framework had previously been outlined in a plenary session of the Indonesian Parliament by the coordinating ministers responsible for coordinating the formation of the state corporation. ‘The Investment Minister/Head of BKPM has formed what is called PT Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia. Further details will be explained later,’ Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, said.

Technical regulations relating to the one-stop export policy and the Devisa Hasil Ekspor (DHE) rules are targeted for completion before 1 June 2026 to avoid disrupting the flow of coal shipments and crude palm oil.