TikTok has updated its senior leadership team, with Australian Vanessa Pappas [pictured] moving from her role as interim head to global COO.
Shouzi Chew, who has previously served as ByteDance’s (TikTok’s parent company) CFO will now also be the CEO of TikTok in a new dual role.
“The leadership team of Shou and Vanessa sets the stage for sustained growth,” said Yiming Zhang, Founder and CEO of ByteDance.
“Shou brings deep knowledge of the company and industry, having led a team that was among our earliest investors, and having worked in the technology sector for a decade. He will add depth to the team, focusing on areas including corporate governance and long-term business initiatives.”
Pappas joined TikTok in 2018 following time with YouTube. She was thrust into the role of interim CEO midway through last year when Kevin Mayer resigned as CEO of the video platform just three months into his time with the company.
Mayer’s resignation came as former US President Donald Trump threatened to ban the app in the United States.
As interim CEO, Pappas managed to avoid any US ban and oversaw a deal that saw Oracle and Walmart join forces with TikTok to create TikTok Global.
In a statement, Pappas revealed she was excited to move into her new role following her time as interim head.
“It’s truly gratifying to have the opportunity to support the most creative and inspiring community out there, and to work alongside a management team that fully believes in that community,” said TikTok COO Vanessa Pappas. “I’m excited to deepen my partnership with Shou, and develop an even richer TikTok platform to provide people around the world a meaningful and entertaining experience. The TikTok journey is just beginning.”
