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As most people know by now, the United States has passed a law (which was upheld by the nation’s Supreme Court) banning TikTok from operating in America unless the Chinese company that owns the social media platform divests and sells the entity to a new, US-based owner.
The action was based on national security concerns; Chinese law allow that nation to demand access to all TikTok account owners’ personal information and even tamper with the TikTok algorithms. Enforcement of the US law is currently on hold, but the Trump administration could decide to move forward at any time.
With that in mind, let’s look at the management structure of TikTok.
Who is TikTok’s CEO?
Shou Zi Chew is currently the company’s CEO. He took over from Kevin Mayer, who held the position for just four months in 2020; Mayer left The Walt Disney Company to move to TikTok but resigned as soon as the US began demanding that parent company ByteDance sell its American operations.
Chew, a Singaporean, was educated at University College London and Harvard Business School. He’s worked at high-level positions at Goldman Sachs and then DST Global, where he managed a major investment in ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
Chew was the chief financial officer of Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that grew to become a leading company in the industry, before moving to TikTok in 2021. He has been the face of the firm’s efforts to find a solution to the tricky problem of the American ban.
Who Is the Real Decision Maker at TikTok?
TikTok insists that as CEO, Chew is in charge of all day-to-day and strategic decisions involving the company.
However, many believe that Zhang Yiming, ByteDance’s founder and majority owner (not to mention the richest man in China) still pulls the strings. He was ByteDance’s and TikTok’s CEO until Kevin Mayer’s brief reign at TikTok (Liang Rubo, Chew’s close friend and former roommate, became the parent company’s CEO).
Zhang stepped down in 2021, claiming he wasn’t an “ideal manager” and would better serve ByteDance in a non-managerial position. Even so, most industry observers say that Zhang, in his capacity of “advisor,” continues to make most of the major decisions involving TikTok, ByteDance, and the company’s other holdings including the Chinese social app Douyin.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.