China's ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming To Step Down As CEO, Shift Focus From People To Market

Zhang said the outcome of the current decision is based upon months of deliberation and belives he would have a greater impact on ByteDance's longer-term initiatives if moved out of the CEO role.

In a major corporate overhaul, the founder of TikTok owner ByteDance Zhang Yiming will be stepping down as chief executive and succeeded by human resource chief Liang Rubo. The Chinese technology company shared the update in a statement on Thursday, as per Reuters.

Since the company was launched in 2021 to emerge as a dominant social media force in China, it is one of the biggest corporate shake-up at ByteDance. ByteDance’s most popular short-video app TikTok became a rage with teenagers and slowly turned into a global sensation. Also Read: Bitcoin Tanks 30% To Near $30,000 As Selling Intensifies Following China's Crypto Warning

Zhang will take up a "key strategy" position at the end of this year, as per the company statement.

What did Zhang Yiming disclose in the memo?

In the memo, Zhang mentioned about Liang role at ByteDance as human resources as "an invaluable", who helped in promoting the company's technology and hiring and managing people. He will work towards ensuring a smooth transition over a period of six months.

In the memo, Zhang said the outcome of the current decision is based upon months of deliberation and belives he would have a greater impact on ByteDance's longer-term initiatives if moved out of the CEO role.

"The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I'm more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles, and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people," Zhang wrote.

"Similarly, I'm not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and contemplating what may be possible," he added. It is to be noted that Zhang's decision comes in less than a month after the chief financial officer Shouzi Chew has been named as CEO of TikTok.

TikTok also tried to maintain distance from Beijing after the United States raised national security concerns over the safety of the personal data it handles. In a major directive against the Chinese firm, former US President Donald Trump's administration sought to force ByteDance to divest control of the app.

The US administration was exerting pressure plan to sell TikTok's American operations to a consortium that included Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) and Walmart Inc (WMT.N) but it didn’t fructify after ByteDance launched successful legal challenges.

The company has employed more than 100,000 people globally, and was aiming to for much-anticipated initial publish offering (IPO) earlier this year but then halted the IPO plans in April.

Earlier, the company spearheaded a organizational shakeup last year, when Zhang appointed Chairman Zhang Lidong and Chief Executive Kelly Zhang at ByteDance's China business.