Julie Gao, previously the top Asia capital markets lawyer at Skadden Arps, a US law firm, is set to become the chief financial officer at Chinese tech giant ByteDance, owner of short video app TikTok. The move comes amid the dwindling of Chinese companies selling shares in New York and Hong Kong, reports the Financial Times.
Gao has for years been a top dealmaker at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, shepherding through the public listings of dozens of Chinese companies in New York and Hong Kong. But with the pipeline of Chinese companies hoping to sell shares in the US dwindling, the Californian-licensed lawyer appears to be betting on a brighter future with China’s top social media company, which continues to grow on the back of TikTok’s global success.
Her move to ByteDance comes at a difficult time for the company domestically. Chinese officials have introduced a flurry of regulations reining in the company’s business.