New York – The world’s leading short-video entertainment app TikTok has a new chief executive officer, Shou Zi Chew, who was previously the chief financial officer of ByteDance Ltd, TikTok’s parent company.
Mr Chew, who is from Singapore, is fluent in English and Chinese. He joined ByteDance in Mar 2021 and will remain at the Chinese company, according to a statement released by TikTok on Friday (Apr 30).
Alongside Mr Chew, Vanessa Pappas was also appointed as the new chief operating officer. The naming of a new CEO and CEO was a part of a strategic reorganization to optimize TikTok’s global teams and support the company’s unprecedented growth.
“The leadership team of Shou and Vanessa sets the stage for sustained growth,” said Yiming Zhang, founder and CEO of ByteDance.
“Shou brings deep knowledge of the company and industry, having led a team that was among our earliest investors, and having worked in the technology sector for a decade. He will add depth to the team, focusing on areas including corporate governance and long-term business initiatives.”
In response to his new role, Mr Chew said, “It’s humbling to be entrusted with this responsibility, and to partner with great leaders like Vanessa to drive TikTok’s unprecedented development as the global home for inspirational and creative content.”
“We will continue building out our strong and deep management team as we set the stage for the next phase of TikTok’s success.”
Prior to joining ByteDance, Mr Chew held several senior roles with global mandates in the technology and investment community.
He was the CFO and international business president of Xiaomi Corp., where he took the gadget producer public in one of the largest-ever Chinese tech listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, reported Bloomberg.
In 2013, he led a team that became one of the earliest investors in TikTok.
Ms Pappas joined the company at the end of 2018, following a long career in the video platform industry, most recently at YouTube.
She has been a key leader in driving the growth and success of the platform into a global phenomenon, noted TitkTok’s statement.
“It’s truly gratifying to have the opportunity to support the most creative and inspiring community out there, and to work alongside a management team that fully believes in that community,” said Ms Pappas.
“I’m excited to deepen my partnership with Shou, and develop an even richer TikTok platform to provide people around the world a meaningful and entertaining experience. The TikTok journey is just beginning.”
Mr Chew is filling the position previously held by Kevin Mayer, who left TikTok in 2020. Mr Mayer had left a top position at Walt Disney Co. to lead TikTok.
A few months later, he left the company after former U.S. President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance to sell TikTok in the U.S. or face a ban due to national security concerns over its Chinese ownership./TISG
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