ByteDance names ex-Disney executive as COO and TikTok CEO

New hire Kevin Mayer ran entertainment giant's streaming and international business

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Then-Disney executive Kevin Mayer on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in October 2019.  © Reuters

YIFAN YU, Nikkei staff writer

PALO ALTO, U.S. -- Chinese technology giant ByteDance has appointed longtime media executive Kevin Mayer as its chief operating officer and as the new CEO of its TikTok short-video app, the company announced Monday.

Kevin Mayer, who most recently served as The Walt Disney Co.'s chairman of direct-to-consumer and international, starts at ByteDance on June 1. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry and will report directly to ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming.

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