Meet Shou Zi Chew: The UCL graduate and TikTok CEO who is slaying Congress right now

TikTok is currently going through a rocky period after world leaders, including Joe Biden, worry the platform is a danger to national security. Meet the man who has won the hearts of millions of people and the company CEO, Shou Zi Chew. He’s a 40-year-old man from Singapore and was previously an UCL student.

Here’s everything you need to know about Shou Zi Chew and his rise to TikTok stardom.

Who is Shou Zi Chew?

Shou Zi Chew was born on 1st January 1983 in Singapore making him 40-years-old. His dad was a construction worker and his mum was a bookkeeper. After graduating school, he completed his national service as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.

After military service, Shou Zi Chew went on to study Economics at University College London where he graduated in 2006. In 2010 he completed a Master of Business Administration degree at Harvard Business school whilst also interning at Facebook.

How did Shou Zi Chew become TikTok CEO?

In between his masters and time at UCL, he worked at Goldman Sachs in London for two years as a banker before he joined the DST Global firm. At DST Global he led a team of early investors in ByteDance in 2013. Then in 2015 he joined Xiaomi, the brand behind Samsung, as its chief financial officer and four years later he became Xiaomi’s international business president.

In March 2021 Shou Zi Chew joined ByteDance as its chief financial officer and quickly became TikTok CEO three months into the job.

Why is Shou Zi Chew testifying before Congress right now?

On March 23rd this month, Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress after months of campaigns for the platform to be banned in the US. The government still hasn’t made its decision whether to ban TikTok or not but it’s fair to say Shou Zi Chew has won over social media with how he handled testifying.

So many TikTok users have been putting together fan edits of Shou Zi Chew speaking to Congress. They’re pointing out how painful it was watching Shou Zi Chew speaking to certain members of Congress who straight up lacked any kind of basic understanding of how the app worked.

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