Chinese social network TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who was questioned by elected members of the US Congress on Thursday and accused the popular application of undermining national security, is a former banker who has enjoyed a rapid rise in the tech sector.
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His hearing by a powerful parliamentary committee while Chinese group ByteDance’s motion faces a total ban in the United States is a first for the 40-year-old businessman with a discreet personality.
Here are 17 things you should know to get to know TikTok’s mystery boss better:
- He was born in Singapore;
- He attended the renowned Hwa Chong School;
- Like most Singaporean men, Mr. Chew performed his military service as a youth with such success that he was commissioned;
- He studied economics at University College London;
- He is fluent in Mandarin and English;
- He was a banker at Goldman Sachs;
- He did an internship at Facebook;
- He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School;
- He is married to Vivian Kao, CEO of an investment company, a former classmate.
Photo Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/AFP
Shou Zi Chew and Vivian Kao at the Met Gala in May 2022.
- He worked for several years in the investment company DST;
- In 2015 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Chinese telephony giant Xiaomi;
- He joined ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, in March 2021;
- He quickly took charge of the bid after the sudden resignation of his predecessor, American Kevin Mayer.
- He runs the company from Singapore;
- It’s unclear how much decision-making authority he has compared to ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and other executives at the parent company;
- Shou Chew himself isn’t a huge TikTok user;
- He has posted around 20 videos since last year and only has around 20,000 subscribers;