ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming announced that he is stepping down as CEO of the Chinese technology giant that created global sensation TikTok.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur will be replaced at the end of the year by Liang Rubo, the company’s head of human resources.
Zhang said he would remain at ByteDance. In a memo to staff published online Thursday, he said stepping down from the CEO role would let him have a “greater impact on longer-term initiatives.”
Zhang founded ByteDance nine years ago and spearheaded its rise to become one of the world’s most successful tech firms, thanks largely to the popularity of its short-video platform Douyin — and its international twin TikTok.
This is a developing story.
Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)
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