Shou Zi Chew: TikTok CEO Everyone Must Know About

Shou Zi Chew, the 41-year-old Singaporean businessman, and the CEO of TikTok, is an influential personality, who got his start at Facebook and led a Chinese smartphone giant through one of the biggest tech IPOs in history. 

TikTok is a top-rated video-sharing platform. Millions of individuals around the world use TikTok. Shou Zi Chew became the new TikTok CEO eight months after Kevin Mayer walked out. Born in 1983 in Singapore, Shou Zi Chew belongs to an authentic Chinese family. While his father worked in the construction field, his mother was a bookkeeper. 

Under Shou Zi Chew’s leadership, TikTok has reached new heights. Shou Zi Chew’s expertise and dynamic skills are a result of his immense hard work and dedication. After graduating from the Hwa Chong Institution, Shou Zi Chew spent long hours serving as a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces. 

After his contribution to the national service, he went to study Bachelor of Economics at the University College London in England in the year 2006. In the year 2010, he also earned a Master of Business Administration degree at the prestigious Harvard Business School. During this time, he also got an opportunity to do a summer internship at Facebook prior to its IPO. 

Shou Zi Chew also met his wife, Vivian Kao, through email when they were both studying at Harvard. People close to the couple often share how they usually finish each other’s sentences. 

A magnet for opportunities, Shou Zi Chew, worked as a banker for two excellent and golden years at Goldman Sachs, one of the world’s leading global financial institutions. After Shou’s exemplary experience at Goldman Sachs London, Shou Zi Chew got into Russian venture capital firm DST Global. Here, Shou Zi Chew led investment into JD.com, Alibaba, and Xiaomi. His extensive experience also includes leading a team of early investors in ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, in the year 2013, according to the details mentioned on his LinkedIn profile.

After joining as the CFO of Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone giant that competes with Apple, in 2015, Shou Zi Chew also became the CFO of ByteDance. Then, he replaced Kevin Mayer to become the TikTok CEO in 2021. Presently, he is both the TikTok CEO and the CFO of Bytedance.

Shou Zi Chew became the CEO of TikTok in May, the same time Vanessa Pappas became the COO of TikTok. His deep knowledge of TikTok and the technology sector makes him the right fit for the TikTok company.  

In March 2023, some U.S. officials were concerned that user data could be shared with the Chinese Communist Party. This is when Shou Zi Chew testified before the United States Congress regarding the legislative effort to ban TikTok in the United States. He testified again in January 2024. In April 2024, the U.S. President, Joe Biden, signed a national security bill that Shou Zi Chew claims would inevitably ban TikTok in the U.S.