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

Zhang Yiming, co-founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, informed staff members of the Chinese technological know-how huge in a memo that he will step down as chief executive, the company disclosed on Thursday.

He will be succeeded by co-founder Rubo Liang. The shift, to start with described by Reuters, signifies the major company shake-up at ByteDance since its launch in 2012. The company grew to turn into a dominant social media power in China and turned TikTok into a world wide feeling.

Mr Zhang wrote that Mr Liang, who was Bytedance’s head of human methods, experienced been “an invaluable lover”, advancing the firm’s technological know-how and using the services of and taking care of people today. He additional that he would get the job done with Mr Liang more than the next six months to make certain a easy transition.

Mr Zhang stated that right after a number of months of deliberation he concluded that he would have a higher effects on ByteDance’s longer-term initiatives if he transitioned out of the chief executive part.

“The truth is, I absence some of the capabilities that make an ideal supervisor. I’m more fascinated in analysing organisational and market place principles, and leveraging these theories to further cut down administration get the job done, relatively than basically taking care of people today,” Mr Zhang wrote.

“Equally, I’m not incredibly social, preferring solitary pursuits like currently being on line, looking through, listening to music and thinking about what may well be achievable,” he additional.

Mr Zhang’s selection to step down will come less than a month after ByteDance named its chief economic officer Shouzi Chew as chief executive of TikTok.

TikTok has sought to distance alone from Beijing right after the United States elevated national security issues more than the safety of the private info it handles.

Previous US president Donald Trump’s administration sought to force ByteDance to divest regulate of the application. A US plan to provide TikTok’s American functions to a consortium that incorporated Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc languished, even so, after ByteDance launched productive authorized challenges.