Xu Ziqiu, a reticent ex-banker at the helm of TikTok

Xu Ziqiu attends a hearing in the US Congress in Washington – AFP

The CEO of the Chinese social network TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, who defended the company today in the US Congress from accusations of threatening US security, is a former banker who has had a rapid rise in the technology sector.

Born in Singapore 40 years ago, Chew attended the prestigious Hwa Chong School before moving to Europe to study economics at University College London.

In the British capital, Chew worked for Goldman Sachs business bank and interned at Facebook, before completing an MBA at Harvard Business School in the US.

After several years at investment firm DST, Chew, who is fluent in Mandarin and English, was named CFO of Chinese phone giant Xiaomi in 2015. In March 2021, he joined ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and quickly took over, following the sudden resignation of his American predecessor. Kevin Mayer.

– Political pressure –

While Chew runs the company from Singapore, according to TikTok, it’s not clear how much decision-making power he has over ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and other executives at the parent company.

For months, this shadowy executive has been dealing with political pressures mounting on both sides of the Atlantic. The White House, the European Commission and the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom have banned their staff from using the video platform, which is popular with young people.

The US executive has hinted that if TikTok remains under ByteDance’s control, it will be banned. Regulators suspect the app gives Beijing access to user data, which TikTok has consistently denied.

“ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government,” Chiu said today during the congressional hearing.

– appreciation –

Chewing himself is not a huge TikTok user. He’s only posted about 20 videos since last year and has less than 20,000 followers on the app. Some photos on his account show the CEO watching the Superbowl halftime show or dancing with pop star Ciara. Others focus on simpler moments like a visit to the British Museum and a Halloween costume.

The TikTok CEO is married to investment firm CEO Vivian Kao, a former classmate at Harvard Business School, whom they met via email in 2008. They have two children.

Like most men in Singapore, Chew served in the military, where he excelled so much that he was appointed an officer, according to the Straits Times. According to the laws of the country, this means that he must remain a reservist in the army until the age of 50, a decade longer than men of other ranks.