TikTok’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mayer has resigned just four months after assuming the position, reported the New York Times. He reportedly left after the company came under pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump and threat of a ban on the platform.
The Financial Times reported that in a letter to employees, he cited the political environment and the US administration’s push to sell the US business.
“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for. Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company,” his letter to employees reportedly said.
With the looming sale of the US arm of TikTok, he wrote in his letter that the role he signed up for to run TikTok globally “will look very different as a result of the US administration's action to push for a sell off of the US business”.
TikTok general manager in North America Vanessa Pappa will be taking over as interim global head of the company.
“We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin's role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision. We thank him for his time at the company and wish him well,” TikTok said in a statement.
President Trump filed an executive order on August 6, prohibiting ByteDance from doing any transaction in the US for 45 days. Trump issued another executive order on August 14, giving ByteDance an option to divest its TikTok business in the US within 90 days. TikTok has filed the lawsuit against the first executive order. "The executive order seeks to ban TikTok purportedly because of the speculative possibility that the application could be manipulated by the Chinese government," TikTok said in its lawsuit.