Do You Know Who Is The CEO Of TikTok?
Do You Know Who Is The CEO Of TikTok?
While rumors and criticism continue on the TikTok app, which could lead to the United States banning the use of the Chinese site, now the attention has turned to the young leader of this site that has taken over the world. , Shou Zi Chew.
On Thursday, March 23, the 40-year-old Singaporean appeared before the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee regarding the security and privacy of users of the site and the allegations that The app is being linked to the Chinese government.
Nothing much is known about how the president conducts his work or the extent of the real power he has in the company.
The most well-known of the site is its CEO Vanessa Pappas, who in September 2022 was questioned by members of the US Congress about how US data flows to China through the software.
An op-ed in the New York Times in September of last year cited comments by former TikTok and Bytedance executives that Mr. Chew did not have much control over the TikTok app company. that Zhang Yiming who created ByteDance is running the company.
But now TikTok is putting Mr. Chew at the forefront of the company's business as it faces allegations of ties to the Chinese government.
In a letter sent by the company to members of the United States Congress in June of last year, the company stressed that it operates without any connection or interference from the main company that owns it, ByteDance.
In the document, the company insists on emphasizing to the members of parliament that the president is not a Chinese national but a Singaporean and resides there.
The president was born and raised in Singapore, where he founded a school for gifted children taught in Chinese, and speaks English and Chinese Mandarin very well.
During his career, he served the country in the Singapore Armed Forces, as an officer.
Mr. Chew received his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of London before going to Harvard University, where he obtained his master's degree.
He also worked as a consultant at Facebook company when the company was not growing.
According to some reports, during a brief five-year stint at the DST investment firm, he led a group of employees who were the first shareholders in ByteDance in 2013.
He also worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs for two years.
Mr. Chew then played a key role at Chinese phone giant Xiaomi, where he was the company's chief financial officer and head of global business.
Additionally, he led the company's IPO in 2018.
He then moved to ByteDance in March 2021, becoming the first person to hold the position of chief financial officer at the giant company.
After only two months, he became the CEO of TikTok, after the owner of this position, Kevin Mayer, suddenly resigned due to the forced sale of the company's assets in the United States that the Trump administration is trying to do.
The Big Challenge
Mr. Chew is now facing the biggest challenge of his career with TikTok, where US lawmakers want the company to sell its US subsidiary or be banned from the country.
This issue has become a cause for concern for the Chinese government.
The media and the government, Global Times, in an analysis that it did after the public opinion poll on Tuesday, showed that the decision to ban the site TikTok is a result of the bad political situation in the United States, and it will be against the free trade system.
The report added that the fact that the TikTok page is from the United States, this is a big crime in the eyes of American officials and politicians.
The way he is facing scrutiny and pressure from both sides, in recent months Mr. Chew has also tried.
Last February, he also made his TikTok page @shou.time, where he shows some of his life experiences, almost a year after taking the chair of the software company.
Mr. Chew's nearly 18,000 followers have seen him attend the American Super Bowl and NBA basketball games.
As he meets famous people like Bill Murray, he even sometimes asks to dance with singer Ciara.
He also went through the media where in some of his interviews he showed that he is a fan of golf and he is a fan of comedian Kevin Hart.
The president with two children, who is married to Vivian Kao, the head of an investment company, said that he does not allow his children to use TikTok because they are young.
These days he has been talking to major media outlets in the United States, where he is currently working