On Thursday, Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, told employees of the Chinese technology giant in a memo that he will step down as a chief executive and be succeeded by human resource chief Liang Rubo, the company disclosed.
The move, first reported by Reuters, represents the biggest corporate shake-up at ByteDance since its launch in 2012.
The company grew to become a dominant social media force in China and turned TikTok, a short-video app popular with teenagers, into a global sensation.
Zhang will move to a “key strategy” position at the end of this year, ByteDance said in a statement.
