Shou Zi Chew

Shou Zi Chew (Chinese: 周受资, born 1 January 1983), also known as Chew Shou Zi, is a Singaporean businessman and entrepreneur who has served as chief executive officer (CEO) of TikTok since 2021.

Early life and education

Chew was born on 1 January 1983 in Singapore. His father reportedly worked in construction while his mother was a bookkeeper. Upon graduating from Hwa Chong Institution, Chew went on to serve National Service in which he was a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.

After his military service, Chew went on to study at University College London, where he graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Economics degree. In 2010, he completed a Master of Business Administration degree at Harvard Business School, and while there completed a summer internship at Facebook prior to its IPO.

Career

After graduating from University College London in 2006, Chew worked at Goldman Sachs in London for two years as a banker before he joined Yuri Milner's venture capital firm DST Global. At Russian investment firm DST Global, Chew led investment into JD.com, Alibaba, and Xiaomi. He also led a team of early investors in ByteDance in 2013.

In 2015, Chew joined Xiaomi as its chief financial officer. In 2019, he became Xiaomi's foreign business president.

In March 2021, Chew joined ByteDance as its chief financial officer. He subsequently replaced TikTok CEO Kevin A. Mayer, who left the ByteDance subsidiary after three months on the job.

In March 2023, Chew testified before the U.S. Congress regarding the legislative effort to ban TikTok in the United States. He testified again in January 2024, during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding legislation on child internet safety.

Personal life

Chew is married to Vivian Kao, an American of Taiwanese descent. They met in 2008 while studying at Harvard Business School. The couple have two children, and live in Singapore.