HONG KONG: TikTok owner ByteDance said on Wednesday that Zhang Nan has stepped down as the CEO of Douyin Group, the popular short video platform’s sister app in China while assuming a new role to shepherd ByteDance’s video editing application.
Confirming Zhang’s departure, ByteDance acknowledged her announcement on her personal WeChat account, where she shared her decision to resign from her current position. Zhang disclosed her move to Jianying, a video editing app under ByteDance’s umbrella, but did not specify her new role within the unit. She expressed her intention to contribute to the advancement of the product in the era of artificial intelligence.
Jianying serves as the Chinese equivalent to the popular editing app CapCut. According to research firm Data.ai’s report in September, CapCut became ByteDance’s second app to surpass $100 million in total consumer spending, amassing over 490 million users.
With a decade-long tenure at ByteDance, Zhang has been instrumental in the company’s growth, particularly in her leadership role in establishing Douyin as a dominant force in the short video platform landscape and one of China’s largest apps.
During her tenure, Zhang reported directly to ByteDance’s CEO, Liang Rubo, while overseeing the Douyin app. Additionally, she was responsible for managing ByteDance’s flagship news aggregator app, Toutiao, in her previous capacity.
Before joining ByteDance, Zhang founded Tuba, a popular photo-sharing app, which ByteDance acquired in 2014. Forbes recognized Zhang as one of the world’s most powerful women in 2020.
