Kevin Mayer stopped TikTok just months after he became CEO of the Chinese video app accused by the Trump administration of threatening national security.
Mr Mayer told staff at TikTok and ByteDance, the company that controls the app, of his decision to leave on Thursday, saying people were informed about the matter.
Vanessa Pappas, currently general manager of TikTok, will become interim chief, according to a letter to the company’s employees.
The former Disney director made the decision to leave after President Donald Trump ordered a ban on TikTok, unless ByteDance sold its U.S. assets to an American company within 90 days, letters the people added about the matter.
“In recent weeks, as the political environment has changed significantly, I have given important reflection on what the structural changes of companies will require, and what it means for the global role for which I have applied. “Against this background, and as we expect to reach a resolution, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I decided to leave the company,” Mr Mayer said in a letter to staff.
“I understand that the role I have applied for – including running TikTok worldwide – will look very different as a result of the action of the US administration to strive for a sale of US business,” he added. he ta.
Talks in Washington over the fate of TikTok began weeks after Mr Mayer officially joined the company in June. Mr Mayer did not expect the extent to which TikTok would be involved in tensions between China and the US, said the people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration and regulators were concerned about data privacy and national security.
“He did not report him here,” said one person with immediate knowledge of the case.
“He has put himself in a sensitive political zone,” said one person familiar with his time at Disney, speaking when Mr Mayer first joined ByteDance. “He will have to align himself with both his Chinese masters and public control in the US.”
Zhang Yiming, the founder and CEO of ByteDance, said in a separate letter to staff that he understood Mr Mayer’s decision to leave, given the political challenges facing TikTok worldwide. The app has also been banned in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Kevin spoke to me, and I fully understand that the resulting outcome we are facing due to the political circumstances in which we operate may have a significant impact on his job in any scenario, but in particular his global role. , while he is based in the US, ”Mr Zhang wrote in his letter to staff viewed by the Financial Times.
Mr Trump, who has become more assertive against China this year, said this month that his administration had “reliable evidence” that ByteDance could take action to undermine US security.
“We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed the scope of Kevin’s role, and fully respect his decision. We thank him for his time at the company and wish him well, ‘TikTok said in a statement to the FT.
ByteDance has held talks with several potential freelancers for TikTok’s US operations, including Microsoft and Oracle.
Mr Zhang said in his letter that ByteDance “moved quickly to find resolutions for the problems we face worldwide, particularly in the US and India”.
TikTok accused the Trump administration earlier this week, arguing that its actions were politically motivated and made without proper process.
In Mr. Mayer, TikTok had called in a veteran of the all-American Disney brand. The graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is known in Hollywood as a tough dealmaker who helped orchestrate the acquisitions of Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm that built Disney into a media empire.
Mr Mayer’s last job at Disney – launching a streaming service for competitor Netflix – was a success. In less than a year, Disney + has attracted more than 60 million subscribers, an achievement that took Netflix a decade.
Bob Iger, former director of Disney, described Mr Mayer as “intense” and “laser-oriented”. “If he puts his mind to something of value, it is very difficult for him to accept my advice to ‘be patient’,” Mr Iger wrote in a memoir published last year.
Mr. Mayer’s relationship with Iger, and his promotion to lead Disney’s streaming business, sparked speculation that he would be the next director of the company. But in February, Mr. Mayer was handed over in favor of Bob Chapek, another Disney veteran.
