Zhang Nan stepped down as CEO of Douyin, and Zhang Lidong walked to the front desk of Bytes

Author: Cheng Xiaoyi

Edited by Kang Xiao

Produced by Deep Web, Tencent Xiaoman Studio

On February 7, Zhang Nan, CEO of Douyin Group, announced that he had resigned as CEO of the group and would focus on the development of CapCut in the future. It is reported that Zhang Nan will continue to report to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo.

According to an internal email released by Liang Rubo, Han Shangyou, the head of Douyin, and Zhang Chao, the head of Tomato Novel and Toutiao, who originally reported to Zhang Nan, reported to Zhang Lidong, chairman of Beijing ByteDance.

From the perspective of the upper management structure of Douyin Group, after Zhang Nan stepped down as CEO, the reporting level was reduced, and Zhang Lidong will go to the front desk to manage the core business of Douyin in a unified manner.

"Douyin Group should not have the position of CEO in the future. A byte employee told the Deep Web.

The business of Douyin Group will be led by Han Shangyou, head of Douyin, Zhang Chao, head of Tomato Novel and Toutiao, Wei Wenwen, head of Douyin e-commerce, Pu Yanzi, head of Douyin life service, and Zhao Xiuying, head of Douyin's advertising business. As the president of Douyin, Han Shangyou will coordinate all the main businesses related to Douyin.

According to a person close to Jianying, in the past year, Zhang Nan has tilted most of his energy to Jianying-related business, personally leading the team to seek a breakthrough in AI-assisted creation, and will soon launch an AI product for pictures and videos.

Jianying is a video editing software launched by Douyin Group in May 2019, which was originally born as a supporting service Douyin. At first, there was only a mobile version on mobile phones, but since February 2021, Jianying supports all terminals on mobile phones, pads, Mac computers, and Windows computers. CapCut is the overseas version of the cut. According to public information, as of 2021, Jianying's monthly active users have exceeded 100 million, making it the largest mobile video editing product in China.

"AI technology will greatly disrupt content creation, and even create new creation platforms, and we hope to actively explore, fully understand and grasp the opportunities. Liang Rubo said in an internal email. The implication is that Zhang Nan's transfer is to explore AI products.

Previously, LatePost reported that while making business adjustments at the end of 2023, ByteDance is concentrating its resources on artificial intelligence. According to a person familiar with the matter, Liang Rubo emphasized exploring AI business in his OKRs in the last two months, and will adjust the company's organization to cater to the AI strategy. Han Sang-woo, the head of Douyin, is also studying how to use AI to transform Douyin.

Zhang Nan faded out of Douyin for the second time

This is not the first time Zhang Nan has faded out of Douyin.

Zhang Nan joined ByteDance in 2014 and was an entrepreneur. In 2016, she led the team to launch products such as Douyin from 0 to 1. In 2018, Douyin became one of the most popular short video products in China.

In 2019, according to LatePost, in the stage of 1 to 10, Douyin needs to return from growth to product-driven, so Zhang Yiming let Zhu Jun (co-founder of TikTok's predecessor - Musical.ly), who is better at products, take over the baton, and Zhang Nan gradually faded out of Douyin and became the head of the interactive entertainment division. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Douyin encountered a Kuaishou onslaught, and Zhang Nan returned to the front line to lead Douyin in China and complete the penetration of the sinking market. In 2020, Zhang Nan became the CEO of Douyin Group.

Han Shangyou, the head of Douyin, was born in 1990, graduated from Nanjing University in 2013, and worked for Tencent and Xiaomi Interactive Entertainment.

Han Shangyou joined ByteDance in 2016, in 2019, he built a live broadcast center within Douyin, and Han Shangyou became the head of Douyin Live, and in the second half of 2021, Han Shangyou began to serve as the head of Douyin Life Service and Douyin Open Platform, and was subsequently promoted to vice president of Douyin. In December 2022, Han Shangyou was promoted to the head of the Douyin department, overseeing Douyin, China live broadcast, life services and other businesses, reporting to Zhang Nan.

After this personnel adjustment, Zhang Lidong will become the actual person in charge of the Douyin Group.

Pu Yanzi, the head of Douyin Life Service, is also the head of commercialization of Douyin Group, according to Blue Whale Finance, Pu Yanzi's reporting object has always been Zhang Lidong.

According to public information, Pu Yanzi has worked at the Beijing Times for nearly 7 years, and joined the Douyin Group with Zhang Lidong in 2013 and is one of the early employees of Douyin. He has successively served as the deputy general manager of Toutiao commercialization and the vice president of commercial sales of ByteDance. According to Blue Whale Finance, Pu Yanzi assisted Zhang Lidong in establishing a strong sales team of ByteDance.

Wei Wenwen, the person in charge of Douyin e-commerce, reported to Zhang Lidong on the solid line and Zhang Nan on the dotted line when she established Douyin BU in 2021.

According to LatePost, Zhao Xiuying, the head of Douyin's advertising business, also reported to Zhang Lidong before. So far, almost all the main business leaders of Douyin Group have reported to Zhang Lidong.

Attached: The content of Zhang Nan's circle of friends

Take dreams as horses and live up to the time

2024 must be "interesting" I used to tell my teammates that if there are 30,000 days in life, you should cherish them, especially the 10,000 days in the middle, I am especially happy that the past 3578 days have experienced all kinds of wonderful moments in my life with you, among which all kinds of hardships and joys can only be truly understood by those who have struggled together, there are many gains and some regrets, but these are not important, the important thing is the days that have been walked together, and it is these good times that have given me where I amThe courage of "restart", this is my gift to myself for the next ten years, in a limited life, an infinite game, as the old saying goes, "life must be able to afford to let go", I think "only really let go, can go all out", here I want to thank myself, live up to the time, but also thank you everyone, give me this opportunity, with me to toss.

Okay, now that the emotion is over, let's get down to business:

I am ready to take off my heavy responsibility as the "CEO of Douyin Group", focus on starting from the "heart", and use the state of always being an entrepreneur to toss some of the things I love in the next ten years. ByteDance is the best platform, both dreams and pragmatic romance, I am looking forward to creating dreams with Jianying's friends, growing up with this era of AI, and drawing the fantasy world in my mind together.

                                                                                                                      张楠Kelly  

Attached: The content of Liang Rubo's internal email

Hello everyone

In the process of company development, we have always flexibly adjusted the organizational structure according to the needs of the business to drive the business forward.

Combined with business development needs and personal wishes, Zhang Nan Kelly no longer serves as the CEO of Douyin Group, focusing on the CapCut business. AI technology will greatly disrupt content creation, and even create new creation platforms, and we hope to actively explore, fully understand and grasp the opportunities.

Thanks to Zhang Nan for leading the team to make breakthroughs, from 0 to 1 to launch products that are popular with users, such as Douyin and Jianying. We look forward to her continuing efforts in her new role.

Next, Han Shangyou, the head of Douyin, and Zhang Chao, the head of Tomato Novel and Today's Headlines, reported to Zhang Lidong. Among them, Shangyou will continue to be responsible for the coordination of all Douyin-related main businesses (Douyin e-commerce, Douyin life services, Douyin advertising business).

In the new year, we look forward to continuing to create a better experience and greater value for users. Happy Chinese New Year to all!

Rubo