ByteDance Ltd., the parent company of the popular short-video app TikTok, has announced that its founder Zhang Yiming would be stepping down from his position as the chief executive officer, and will be accepting another position later this year.
As his successor for the position of CEO, Mr. Zhang has appointed co-founder, Liang Rubo and declared that he was stepping down to concentrate on long-term maneuvering. Concerns regarding the Chinese company’s future in the U.S. have been reducing as geopolitical dilemma eases, only for Bytedance to encounter pressure at home.
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Moreover, the departure of Mr. Zhang follows those in March at financial-tech giant Ant Group Co. and e-commerce company Pinduoduo Inc. ByteDance had an administrator shake-up in April when Shou Zi Chew was selected CEO of TikTok. The executive shift will take place over six months, Mr. Zhang said in a letter to employees on Thursday. According to a spokesperson, he will still continue on ByteDance’s board of directors.
Zhang Yiming’s message on the website reads, “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I’m more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people. Similarly, I’m not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and contemplating what may be possible.”
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Furthermore, the decision proclaims a significant transformation for ByteDance’s corporate administration, but it shouldn’t influence the day-to-day operations of TikTok too much. The previous month ByteDance proclaimed that former Xiaomi CFO Chew Shouzi would assume the role of dedicated TikTok CEO after having appointed him in March to take over as CFO of the parent company.
Chew took over from Vanessa Pappas, who was managing the firm on an interim basis after previous Disney executive Kevin Mayer left the role less than four months into his tenure. Mayer’s conclusion was because of the social network’s legislative challenges in the US, though the Trump administration’s endeavors to ban it or force a divesture eventually fizzled out.
Source: The Verge
