ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming will step down from his role as CEO ahead of a planned initial public offering in the U.S. or Hong Kong. In an internal memo that was published online, it was revealed that Zhang would step down from his role and hand the reins of the company to human resources head Rubo Liang. Zhang will remain as Chairman of the company.
“I feel I did not achieve as much as I had hoped to on my previous objectives in the areas of new strategic opportunities, organizational management, and social responsibility,” Zhang wrote in the memo. “After several months of thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that transitioning out of the role of CEO, with all of the related day-to-day responsibilities, would enable me to have a greater impact on longer-term initiatives.”
The Beijing-based multinational internet technology company was founded in 2012 and in 2017 it acquired Shanghai-based social media start-up Musical.ly, which was later renamed to what we now know as short-form video app TikTok. At the end of March, it acquired Shanghai-based Moonton Technology, the developer and publisher of the popular mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
(Photo : ByteDance)
