Who is Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok?

Shou Chew is the Chief Executive of TikTok, but who exactly is he? He's a prominent leader in the technology industry who specializes in video sharing apps. He's known for his successful leadership skills, which have helped TikTok become one of the most popular and fastest-growing social media platforms. Chew's expertise in technology and business management has led him to this highly-sought-after position in the tech industry. His ability to guide and motivate his team has made him one of the most respected leaders in the business. Chew's impact can be seen in the way TikTok has revolutionized the way people create and share content online. With Chew at the helm, TikTok's success is sure to continue for years to come.

Who is Shou Chew, the CEO of TikTok?

The CEO of TikTok, Shou Chew, will make his debut in front of Congress on Thursday as the only person testifying in a hearing about the risks of the popular video sharing application. TikTok is owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance, which has raised concerns that the app may disclose private information from American users to the Chinese authorities.

Tech executives, including Mark Zuckerberg from Meta and Sundar Pichai from Google, are commonly subjected to challenging inquiries as part of their initiation into the industry. However, unlike those others in Silicon Valley, 40-year-old Mr. Chew is unique.

The executive from Singapore has been appointed as a spokesperson for TikTok, to deflect criticism for the app by highlighting its popularity and usefulness for creators and small businesses. He has consistently denied any connection between TikTok and China, and stressed that he resides in Singapore with his family.

At the DealBook conference hosted by the New York Times, Mr. Chew stated that he holds the responsibility for all strategic choices made at TikTok.

The TikTok team's CEO, Shou Chew, has a message for our community of 150 million Americans before his congressional hearing this week. He would like to express our gratitude for all of your support.

In May 2021, Mr. Chew became the new leader of TikTok amidst ongoing investigations into the app's connections to China. He pursued an economics degree at the renowned University College London before starting a career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Later on, he obtained an MBA from Harvard.

While studying in business school, Mr. Chew completed an internship at Facebook. Once he earned his business degree, he decided to work at DST Global. Since he speaks Mandarin proficiently, he was assigned as DST's representative in China. In his role, Mr. Chew assisted in investing in a Chinese news aggregator that later became ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.

At the beginning of 2021, Mr. Chew became part of TikTok's board as the head of finance. Shortly after, he was appointed as the new CEO, taking over from Kevin Mayer, a previous Disney executive who decided to leave the position after only a short time.

Mr. Chew was tasked with instilling financial order in the company and devising a plan to achieve profitability. He avoided public attention until the end of last autumn, when concerns around national security began to rise about the application.

In recent months, Mr. Chew has been traveling around the world to persuade governments that TikTok values its users' privacy and operates independently from China's communist regime. He had discussions with members of Congress, regulatory bodies in Europe, and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year.