Who is Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok?
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It's likely that US lawmakers will be asking some hard-hitting questions to the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew.
As TikTok faces increasing doubt across the world, which might result in an American prohibition of the app from China, the focus is now on its mysterious CEO, Shou Zi Chew.
On Thursday, a Singaporean who is 40 years old will appear before the Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House. Their purpose for being there is to discuss the safety and privacy measures of the app, as well as its supposed connections to Beijing.
There is a lack of information regarding his approach or the exact extent of his authority within the organization.
Vanessa Pappas, the main operating executive of TikTok, has commonly represented the social media platform and was questioned by the US Congress in September regarding the sharing of data to China.
According to previous executives from TikTok and ByteDance mentioned in a New York Times feature last September, it was hinted that Mr Chew has restricted decision-making capabilities, and the founder of ByteDance Zhang Yiming is the one with complete control over the company.
View: A concise overview of the TikTok controversy elucidated within a minute
However, TikTok has decided to make Mr. Chew more visible to the public, despite facing increased scrutiny over its potential links to the Chinese government.
Last June, the company sent a letter to lawmakers emphasizing that it has independence from its parent company, ByteDance. In the letter, the company went out of its way to clarify that its leader is not Chinese, but rather a resident of Singapore who is based in Singapore.
He was brought up in the urban area of the state and studied at a prestigious school where they speak Chinese fluently. He served in the military while fulfilling his compulsory service, having been appointed as an officer, which is a well-regarded position in Singapore. Additionally, he is able to speak both English and Mandarin fluently.
After obtaining his bachelor's degree in economics from University College London, Mr Chew went on to pursue an MBA from Harvard Business School. During his time at the prestigious institution, he also interned at Facebook, a social media behemoth that was still in its early days.
He reportedly worked at DST, an investment firm, for five years and was in charge of a team that invested in ByteDance in 2013. Additionally, he worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs for a period of two years.
Next, Mr Chew played an important position at the Chinese mobile phone company Xiaomi. He had two roles as the chief financial officer and international business president, and that helped Xiaomi go public in 2018.
In March 2021, he left his previous job and joined ByteDance as their new chief financial officer, making him the first person to hold that position at the company.
After only two months, he assumed the position of TikTok's CEO, following the unexpected departure of his forerunner Kevin Mayer. The resignation came amid the Trump administration's endeavors to impose a sale of TikTok's U.S. properties.
Mr Chew is currently confronted with a significant hurdle in his profession regarding TikTok, as elected officials in the United States insist that the business either relinquishes control of its possessions in the US or risk being prohibited.
The problem has turned into an obstacle for the Chinese too.
According to an opinion piece published on Tuesday by state media outlet Global Times, the desire to ban TikTok is sparked by a negative political environment in the US and goes against principles of a free market. The article also suggests that American politicians view TikTok's Chinese ownership as a wrongful characteristic.
Under intense observation from both perspectives, Mr Chew seems to have started a campaign of being more friendly in recent months.
Last February, he made his own TikTok account with the username @shou.time in order to share bits and pieces of his own life. This occurred close to a year after he became the leader of the platform. Mr. Chew now has about 18,000 followers who have been able to witness him attending events like the Super Bowl and NBA games, encountering famous people such as Bill Murray, and struggling to dance together with singer Ciara.
He has appeared on various media platforms, sharing in discussions that he loves playing golf and enjoys the comedy of Kevin Hart. The man is a parent of two children and is currently wedded to Vivian Kao, the Chief Executive Officer of an Investment company. He also expressed that his offspring are not permitted to make use of TikTok due to their tender ages.
Lately, he has visited various prominent American media platforms and reiterated that TikTok does not endanger US interests.
He also reached out to the US users of the app for assistance. He made a request to them through a video uploaded on TikTok's official account on Monday evening in Washington. He urged them to share their messages for lawmakers with him.
Within the video, which has received over 500,000 likes, he expresses: "This moment is significant for us. It could potentially deprive all 150 million of you of TikTok."
