ByteDance CFO becomes TikTok CEO, as company reshuffles into 6 units
ByteDance is planning to disjoin its global social media sensation, TikTok, into a solitary business unite, following an executive decision to break down the company into six entities, according to Reuters.
Chief executive officer (CEO), Liang Rubo, has initiated plans to refurbish the technology enterprise into various parts, following founder Zhang Yiming’s decision to retire from his position.
The former CEO announced Wednesday news of relinquishing his status as a chairman, following his affirmation in May of stepping down as CEO, according to Reuters.
Liang Rubo, the recently appointed CEO, is currently leading the company’s board comprising of five members, including General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, and Susqundhanna International Group.
As for Zhang’s 50 percent voting right, no official announcement was made on behalf of the company addressing whether the relinquishment of the chairman’s title will relate to the voting process.
The startling declaration was made following ByteDance’s announcement of a massive institutional reshuffling in the company’s subsidiaries. The conglomerate’s upcoming division could potentially be related to Beijing’s harsh regulatory restrictions on its tech industry.
To fulfill the chiefs’ vision of detaching TikTok from its parent company, the chief financial officer (CFO), Shou Zi Chew, will step down from his position to take over the management aspect of the social media platform, with Liang overseeing all financial operations for ByteDance.
The video-based social network service will dilate into a technological platform, incorporating various perspectives, including e-commerce.
One of the main factors leading to Chew’s upcoming power reshuffle comes after ByteDance announced in April that it has no looming plans to go public, despite enquiring about listing in both Hong Kong and New York exchange markets.
It is worth mentioning that as one of the world’s leading private enterprises, the Beijing-based company had a valuation of about $300 billion across various trading markets.
ByteDance reshuffling will deliver six business units, with co-founder Zhang Yiming still upholding more than 50 percent in the company’s voting rights, signaling the most comprehensive organizational change for the Beijing-based enterprise since Yiming’s step down.
In reference to Liang’s memo to Reuters, TikTok’s caretaker company will be reshuffled into six separate units, the video-sharing platform and its Chinese edition Douyin, work collaboration entity Lark, business service organization BytePlus, gaming unit Nuverse, and finally, education tech entity Dali Education.
The custodian firm’s Douyin unit will incorporate a multitude of the company’s Chinese products and will singularly manage every “information and service” operation in the Chinese market. It will include news aggregator Toutiao, Douyin, and video-streaming platform Xigua.
In parallel, different selections will integrate division Lark, education business Dali and technology platform, BytePlus. Also, the Nuverse business will concentrate on its parent company’s gaming endeavors.
For the multinational conglomerate, the past 15 months mounted extensive tensions after it was deemed as a national security threat by the U.S., led by former President Donald Trump, who ordered to divest its TikTok businesses in the country.
Despite igniting escalated tautness amongst some of the biggest names in the league, such as Microsoft and Oracle, the former President’s deal never came to fruition.
Not so strangely though, tensions between Beijing and Washington arose to a new level, however, it seems that ByteDance is not mystified with the geopolitical tension as it proceeds with its path to expand its business in various areas.