LOS ANGELES – ByteDance Ltd. announced that it has named Kevin Mayer Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ByteDance and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TikTok, effective June 1.
Kevin will lead the rapidly growing platform as it continues to build its global community of creators, users, and brands. Kevin will report directly to ByteDance Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yiming Zhang.
Kevin joins the company following a long and successful career at Disney (NYSE: DIS), most recently as Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International. As a key part of his role there, he oversaw the development and successful rollout of Disney+, the company’s flagship streaming service. Additionally, Kevin led the company’s other direct-to-consumer businesses, including Hulu, ESPN+, and Hotstar, as well as overseeing Disney’s international operations, global ad sales, and global content sales.
Kevin said, “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join the amazing team at ByteDance. Like everyone else, I’ve been impressed watching the company build something incredibly rare in TikTok – a creative, positive online global community – and I’m excited to help lead the next phase of ByteDance’s journey as the company continues to expand its breadth of products across every region of the world. On a personal note, I’m thankful to the entire Disney team for the tremendous accomplishments we achieved together. I’m especially grateful to Bob Iger for his visionary leadership and mentorship over many years, and to Bob Chapek whom I greatly admire. As I begin a new chapter, I’m humbled by the trust Yiming and the Board have placed in me as we move forward with a shared vision of how to scale ByteDance’s growth.”
Alex Zhu, the current President of TikTok, will transition to ByteDance VP of Product & Strategy, where he will focus on his primary passion overseeing strategy and product design.
As part of its commitment to rooting its operations in the local markets it serves, TikTok’s national and regional leaders will remain in their roles with their current responsibilities, reporting in to Kevin, who will be responsible for the global business.
