ByteDance, the makers of TikTok, is having a major shake in its leadership. Its CEO, Zhang Yiming, has announced that he will be stepping down from his role.
The news which was first reported by Reuters and confirmed by the company said Zhang will be leaving his position for a “key strategy” position at the end of the year. He will hand over to Liang Rubo, his long-time friend who is the current head of Human Resources and who he describes as “an invaluable partner” with “strengths in management, organization, and social engagement”.
Zhang Yiming revealed that he lacked some of the skills that make an ideal manager and that he is better at analyzing organizational and market principles rather than actually managing people”.
Zhang will work with Liang for the next six months for a smooth transition. The CEO currently owns about 20% to 30% of the company which was founded in 2012 and 50% of voting rights. It is not known if he will give up his voting rights.
There are speculations that the decision might be to take the spotlight away from him when the company eventually has its IPO which was supposed to happen this year but was suspended last month. The IPO is expected to result in a significant increase in his wealth which may put him on Beijing’s radar.
RELATED:
