The boss of the Chinese company behind viral video platform TikTok said Thursday he will leave the role because he lacks managerial skills and preferred “reading and daydreaming” to running the tech giant.
Beijing has tightened the screws on China’s booming tech sector, levying fines — including on Bytedance last month — for allegedly flouting monopoly rules, and issuing stark warnings to the coterie of billionaire digital bosses about their responsibilities to society.
Zhang Yiming, the billionaire co-founder of Bytedance — which created the popular short video TikTok app — said he will step down as CEO and transition to a new role by the end of the year focusing on “long-term strategy”. Liang Rubo, with whom he set up the firm, will take over the role.
In an unusually candid open memo by one of Asia’s new tech rich, Zhang said: “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager.
“I’m more interested in analysing organisational and market principles… than actually managing people.” With a net worth of $36 billion Zhang is the fifth richest person in China, according to the Forbes Billionaire Index.
The 38-year-old added that he is also “not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and daydreaming about what may be possible”.
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