Zhang Yiming is stepping down from his role as CEO of ByteDance- parent Company to TikTok. Yiming co-founded ByteDance in 2012 and will now take up a new role in the company while fellow co-founder Liang Rubo will step up as the new CEO. Liang currently runs HR at ByteDance.
In a letter that ByteDance made public, Zhang revealed that he had taken a deep thought on his position and feels he will be more effective in another role.
He said, “Recently, several colleagues have asked me why I haven’t updated my OKRs. Frankly, I feel I did not achieve as much as I had hoped to on my previous objectives in the areas of new strategic opportunities, organizational management, and social responsibility. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to better drive real long-term breakthroughs, which cannot simply rely on steady, but incremental, progress.
“After several months of thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that transitioning out of the role of CEO, with all of the related day-to-day responsibilities, would enable me to have greater impact on longer-term initiatives.”
Zhang also admitted some personal weaknesses as a manager. Zhang said, “I worry I am still relying too much on the ideas I had before starting the company, and haven’t challenged myself by updating those concepts.
“I think someone else can better drive progress through areas like improved daily management,” he continues. “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I’m more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people. Similarly, I’m not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and daydreaming about what may be possible.”
Zhang describes Liang as an “invaluable partner” and started discussions about him taking over as ByteDance CEO back in March. The transition will take place over the next six months, and Zhang’s new role will focus on “long-term strategy, corporate culture, and social responsibility,” according to the company.
The announcement ushers in a major change for ByteDance’s corporate leadership, but it shouldn’t affect the day-to-day operations of TikTok too much.
