Shou Zi Chew (; born 1 January 1983) is a Singaporean business executive who has been the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, an online video platform owned by Chinese company

ByteDance ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, and incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Founded by Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo, and a team of others in 2012, ByteDance developed the video-sharing ap ...

, since 2021.

Early life and education

Chew was born on 1 January 1983 in Singapore. His father reportedly worked in construction and his mother in bookkeeping. Upon graduating from

Hwa Chong Institution Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) is an independent Secondary school, secondary educational institution in Bukit Timah, Central Region, Singapore, Central Region, Singapore. It was established in 2005 by the merger of The Chinese High School (Singapor ...

, Chew went on to serve

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

. After his military service, Chew went on to study at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in England. He graduated from the college in 2006 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in economics. In 2010, he completed a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, and while there completed a summer internship at

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

prior to its IPO.

Career

After graduating from University College London in 2006, he stayed on in London to work as a banker for the Goldman Sachs Group for two years before he joined

Yuri Milner Yuri Borisovich (Bentsionovich) Milner (, ; born 11 November 1961) is a Soviet-born Israeli entrepreneur, investor, physicist and scientist. He is a co-founder and former chairperson of internet company Mail.Ru Group (later VK), and a founder ...

's venture capital firm

DST Global DST Global is a venture capital and private equity firm that primarily invests in late-stage internet companies. DST Global has been described as one of the largest and most influential venture firms in the world, with an estimated $50 bill ...

. At the Russian investment firm DST Global, Chew led investment into JD.com, Alibaba, and

Xiaomi Xiaomi (; ) is a Chinese multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is best known for consumer electronics software electric vehicles. It is the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the worl ...

. He also led a team of early investors in

in 2013. In 2015, Chew joined Xiaomi as its

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

. In 2019, he became Xiaomi's foreign business president. In March 2021, Chew joined ByteDance as its chief financial officer. He subsequently replaced TikTok CEO Kevin A. Mayer, who left the ByteDance subsidiary after three months on the job. In March 2023, Chew testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

regarding the legislative effort to ban TikTok in the United States. Following the testimony, then senator

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

requested the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

investigate Chew for

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

. Chew testified again in January 2024, during a

United States Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nom ...

hearing regarding legislation on child internet safety. He was the honorary chairperson of the 2024

Met Gala The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala was and still is popularly rega ...

as TikTok was the lead sponsor of the event. Chew was recognized as one of the most impactful Asians in 2024 by Gold House. On 24 April 2024,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

signed a bill that required TikTok be sold or face a ban in the US. However, after the 2024 election and before any ban took effect, President Biden decided to leave enforcement of the law in the hands of the incoming Trump administration. This resulted in TikTok being temporarily disabled and removed from app stores in the United States until 20 January 2025, when President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

signed an executive order delaying the app's ban for 75 days, pending a possible sale of ownership. Chew was present at Trump's inauguration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shou Zi, Chew 1983 births Living people 21st-century Singaporean businesspeople Singaporean people of Chinese descent People from Singapore ByteDance people Xiaomi people Goldman Sachs people Alumni of University College London Harvard Business School alumni Chief financial officers