Shou Zi Chew, TikTok's low-key CEO, faces down US Congress

Shou Zi Chew, TikTok's low-key CEO, faces down US Congress

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify for the Chinese company at the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify for the Chinese company at the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew, who will represent the Chinese company in a US congressional meeting Thursday, is a former banker turned tech boss whose soft-spoken persona belies his meteoric rise.

The 40-year-old Singaporean's rapid ascent coincides with the United States and other Western governments tightening scrutiny over Chinese technology giants and their products.

Thursday's hearing will represent a rare appearance under the spotlight for Chew, who has a low public profile even in his home country.

Born in the city-state to a family with Chinese heritage, Chew attended the prestigious Hwa Chong school before studying economics at University College London.

He worked in the British capital as a banker for Goldman Sachs and also interned at Facebook before earning an MBA at Harvard Business School.

After several years with the investment firm DST, Chew was appointed the chief financial officer of another Chinese tech success, Xiaomi, in 2015.

Read also

Frustrated Kenyans voice anger over economic crisis

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

He moved to TikTok's parent company ByteDance in March 2021 and soon took over as the social media app's chief executive officer after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor, the American Kevin Mayer.

High stakes

TikTok has said Chew runs the company from his base in Singapore.

But it is unclear how much power Chew has to make decisions compared to ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and other executives at the parent firm.

Western concerns around TikTok centre on whether the Chinese government has links to the app that it could use for espionage, or to push propaganda to its hundreds of millions of global users.

Governments in the United States, Britain and Canada, as well as the European Commission, have already ordered officials to delete TikTok from their phones.

Read also

People smugglers use TikTok to promote their services

The Biden administration has gone one step further, telling the company to cut ties with its Chinese ownership or face a complete ban.

The stakes are therefore high as Chew prepares to face the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he will be questioned about ByteDance's and TikTok's Beijing connections.

"Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country," Chew will say on Thursday, according to prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.

"TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, US user data with the Chinese government. Nor would TikTok honour such a request if one were ever made."

Low profile

Chew himself is not a prolific TikTok user, posting less than two dozen videos since last year and boasting a mere 18,500 followers.

While some clips see him taking in the Superbowl half-time show or dancing with pop star Ciara, others centre on more homespun themes like dressing up for Halloween or visiting the British Museum.

Read also

TikTok chief faces US Congress as lawmakers mull ban

Fluent in Mandarin and English, Chew is married to investment company CEO Vivian Kao, a former business school classmate he met over email in 2008.

They have two children and are so close they "often finish each other's sentences", according to a profile on the school's website.

Like most Singaporean men, Chew also performed military service in his youth, serving with such distinction that he was made an officer, according to the Straits Times newspaper.

Under Singaporean law, that means he is required to remain an army reservist until he is 50, a decade longer than men of other ranks.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.