TikTok, a popular short-form video app facing questions about its future in the U.S., said Thursday that the company’s chief operating officer had stepped down and hired a new head of operations and a new head of brand and communications. Announced. board member.
V. Pappas, who joined TikTok as Chief Operating Officer in 2018 to run its North American operations, will serve as a strategic advisor to the company. Adam Presser, TikTok’s Chief of Staff, will be responsible for operations.
In an email to the company on Thursday, Mx. Pappas, 44, said, “It’s the right time to move on and refocus on your entrepreneurial passion.”
The company also announced that Xenia Mucha will oversee the company’s vast communications team. Mucha, who for many years led Disney’s 500-person global media relations team, was described in a 2021 New York Times profile as “combatant” and “the backbone of the leadership team,” making it one of the company’s key decision-makers. Most had a say. Disney.
“This is an important time for us,” said TikTok CEO Shou Chu in a statement Thursday, adding, “We are confident that we are in a strong position to meet the opportunities at hand. there is,” he said.
The leadership shake-up comes at a pivotal time for TikTok, as it faces significant ownership pressure from Chinese company ByteDance and questions over its data and privacy practices. The governor of Montana recently signed a bill banning TikTok in the state next year, and the app has also been banned at universities, government agencies and the military. The Biden administration is also pushing the potential for app sales to meet national security concerns.
The heavy scrutiny of TikTok has put the company’s management in the spotlight, and they have been asked to publicly defend the company and its practices before lawmakers. Mr. Chu appeared before Congress in March after Mr. MX took office, and was met with heated hearings. Pappas was grilled by senators last September. Mx’s autumn appearance. Pappas was one of the first TikTok leaders to publicly answer lawmakers about their ties to the Chinese government.
MX Pappas has also become the face of the company among creators, defending the app amid calls for its ban under two different presidential administrations.
Mucha is not the first Disney leader to join TikTok. Kevin Mayer was the head of Disney’s streaming division before joining TikTok temporarily as TikTok’s chief executive officer in 2020.
