SHangHAI: ByteDance Ltd founder Zhang Yiming will cede the reins of TikTok’s owner to an old college roommate and lieutenant, stepping back from running the world’s most valuable startup ahead of its highly anticipated market debut.
Zhang will hand off the chief executive officer (CEO) role at TikTok’s owner to human resources chief Rubo Liang, he announced in an internal memo posted online yesterday. The billionaire entrepreneur remains chairman but plans to relinquish most of his day-to-day duties because they were an increasing burden on his time, a person familiar with the matter said.