ByteDance boss to step down in big shake-up at TikTok owner

Zhang Yiming, co-founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, advised staff members of the Chinese technological innovation giant in a memo that he will step down as chief government, the corporation disclosed on Thursday.

He will be succeeded by co-founder Rubo Liang. The go, first documented by Reuters, signifies the most important company shake-up at ByteDance since its start in 2012. The corporation grew to turn into a dominant social media force in China and turned TikTok into a world feeling.

Mr Zhang wrote that Mr Liang, who was Bytedance’s head of human assets, had been “an invaluable husband or wife”, advancing the firm’s technological innovation and employing and controlling folks. He extra that he would get the job done with Mr Liang over the up coming 6 months to guarantee a smooth changeover.

Mr Zhang reported that immediately after quite a few months of deliberation he concluded that he would have a greater effects on ByteDance’s for a longer period-time period initiatives if he transitioned out of the chief government part.

“The reality is, I lack some of the skills that make an best supervisor. I am extra intrigued in analysing organisational and sector ideas, and leveraging these theories to further more lower administration get the job done, alternatively than really controlling folks,” Mr Zhang wrote.

“Likewise, I am not extremely social, preferring solitary pursuits like being on the web, examining, listening to music and considering what may possibly be possible,” he extra.

Mr Zhang’s conclusion to step down comes much less than a month after ByteDance named its chief fiscal officer Shouzi Chew as chief government of TikTok.

TikTok has sought to distance itself from Beijing immediately after the United States raised countrywide protection considerations over the security of the individual facts it handles.

Previous US president Donald Trump’s administration sought to force ByteDance to divest regulate of the app. A US plan to offer TikTok’s American functions to a consortium that integrated Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc languished, on the other hand, after ByteDance launched thriving lawful challenges.