Kelly Zhang Nan, the most powerful woman in ByteDance, has stepped down as CEO of the Douyin business unit that includes the Chinese version of TikTok, as well as other signature products such as news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, reports the South China Morning Post. Citing “business development needs and personal preferences”, Zhang will focus on CapCut, a video-editing and graphic design app, according to an internal letter sent by ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo on Wednesday and seen by the Post.
“Artificial intelligence (AI) technology will substantially disrupt content creation and even give birth to new content creation platforms,” Liang wrote. “We hope to actively explore, fully understand and seize the opportunity.”
A ByteDance representative confirmed that Zhang had relinquished her role as chief executive of Douyin, adding that the company was grateful for her leadership.