TikTok Boss Worth $36 Billion Resigns To Spend Time ‘Reading And Daydreaming’

The boss of the Chinese company behind viral video platform
TikTok said Thursday he will leave the role because he lacks
managerial skills and preferred “reading and daydreaming” to
running the tech giant.

Beijing has tightened the screws on China’s booming tech sector,
levying fines — including on Bytedance last month — for allegedly
flouting monopoly rules, and issuing stark warnings to the coterie
of billionaire digital bosses about their responsibilities to
society.

Zhang Yiming, the billionaire co-founder of Bytedance — which
created the popular short video TikTok app — said he will step down
as CEO and transition to a new role by the end of the year focusing
on “long-term strategy”.

Liang Rubo, with whom he set up the firm, will take over the
role.

In an unusually candid open memo by one of Asia’s new tech rich,
Zhang said: “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an
ideal manager.

“I’m more interested in analysing organisational and market
principles… than actually managing people.”

With a net worth of $36 billion Zhang is the fifth richest
person in China, according to the Forbes Billionaire Index.

The 38-year-old added that he is also “not very social,
preferring solitary activities like being online, reading,
listening to music, and daydreaming about what may be
possible”.

Zhang has also been under enormous pressure to convince the
world that TikTok will not hand data over to China’s Communist
Party, while also protecting his image at home by not appearing to
give in to demands from the West.

News that he is stepping down comes as Beijing clamps down on
the unprecedented influence of some of China’s biggest technology
firms.

E-commerce giant Alibaba was fined 18.2 billion yuan ($2.78
billion) last month as part of a push by regulators to rein in
dominant digital platforms.

As Alibaba’s problems mounted, its founder Jack Ma has been
unusually absent from the spotlight after speculation that brash
comments by him to regulators brought the hammer down on his
firm.

Bytedance was among 34 tech companies summoned by regulators in
April that were told to undergo “complete rectification” and “heed
the warning” of Alibaba.

TikTok is believed to have around one billion users worldwide
including more than 100 million in the United States.

While he was US president, Donald Trump made a series of demands
on the Chinese company over security concerns, including calls for
the US operations of TikTok be sold to an American company or it
would be shut down.

The firm has insisted it would never provide user data to the
Chinese government.

ByteDance now has more than 60,000 staff in 30 countries and
last year Zhang said they were looking to recruit around 40,000
more.

The company also runs a series of popular products including
Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — as well as news
aggregation app Jinri Toutiao and productivity app Lark, which
features cloud storage, chat and calendar functions.

Media reports last year suggested Bytedance was planning to list
some of its businesses in Hong Kong, in a move that could value it
at $180 billion. AFP

The boss of the Chinese company behind viral video platform
TikTok said Thursday he will leave the role because he lacks
managerial skills and preferred “reading and daydreaming” to
running the tech giant.

Beijing has tightened the screws on China’s booming tech sector,
levying fines — including on Bytedance last month — for allegedly
flouting monopoly rules, and issuing stark warnings to the coterie
of billionaire digital bosses about their responsibilities to
society.

Zhang Yiming, the billionaire co-founder of Bytedance — which
created the popular short video TikTok app — said he will step down
as CEO and transition to a new role by the end of the year focusing
on “long-term strategy”.

Liang Rubo, with whom he set up the firm, will take over the
role.

In an unusually candid open memo by one of Asia’s new tech rich,
Zhang said: “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an
ideal manager.

“I’m more interested in analysing organisational and market
principles… than actually managing people.”

With a net worth of $36 billion Zhang is the fifth richest
person in China, according to the Forbes Billionaire Index.

The 38-year-old added that he is also “not very social,
preferring solitary activities like being online, reading,
listening to music, and daydreaming about what may be
possible”.

Zhang has also been under enormous pressure to convince the
world that TikTok will not hand data over to China’s Communist
Party, while also protecting his image at home by not appearing to
give in to demands from the West.

News that he is stepping down comes as Beijing clamps down on
the unprecedented influence of some of China’s biggest technology
firms.

E-commerce giant Alibaba was fined 18.2 billion yuan ($2.78
billion) last month as part of a push by regulators to rein in
dominant digital platforms.

As Alibaba’s problems mounted, its founder Jack Ma has been
unusually absent from the spotlight after speculation that brash
comments by him to regulators brought the hammer down on his
firm.

Bytedance was among 34 tech companies summoned by regulators in
April that were told to undergo “complete rectification” and “heed
the warning” of Alibaba.

TikTok is believed to have around one billion users worldwide
including more than 100 million in the United States.

While he was US president, Donald Trump made a series of demands
on the Chinese company over security concerns, including calls for
the US operations of TikTok be sold to an American company or it
would be shut down.

The firm has insisted it would never provide user data to the
Chinese government.

ByteDance now has more than 60,000 staff in 30 countries and
last year Zhang said they were looking to recruit around 40,000
more.

The company also runs a series of popular products including
Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — as well as news
aggregation app Jinri Toutiao and productivity app Lark, which
features cloud storage, chat and calendar functions.

Media reports last year suggested Bytedance was planning to list
some of its businesses in Hong Kong, in a move that could value it
at $180 billion. AFP