He shares: “I went to a neighbourhood primary school called Hong Dao Primary School. Growing up in the city in the ’80s and ’90s, he had, in his own words, a typical Singaporean childhood. Today, the family is based in Singapore, where Chew was born and bred, and his parents and siblings live. Kao was working for Better Place, a clean energy start-up.Īt the time, Chew was working for a start-up too. They got to know each other the summer after their first year, when they had internships in California. My wife and I are relearning everything, like changing diapers,” he laughs.Ĭhew met his wife, Taiwanese-American Vivian Kao, while they were pursuing MBAs at Harvard Business School. “There’s quite an age gap between this kid and the previous kid. Still, he is happy to share that his wife and he welcomed a new member to the family this year-their third child. “I do try and keep my family out of the spotlight.” While he is no longer shying away from the public eye, Chew’s family is where he draws a line. There was a ‘green flag’ one and some AI ones. “I try to use the effects we offer in the TikTok library from time to time. ![]() Others-like one where he uses CapCut transitions to telekinetically change his outfit-are more tongue in cheek. Some videos are informative, like when he shares new product developments at the company, or shares mini-vlogs of exhibitions he visits around the world. When it comes to subject matter, they run the gamut. On his TikTok account ( Chew now posts at least one video a month, sometimes more. But as a company that is growing, it is important to be a little bit more visible so that people can understand us better-and we can earn the trust that we need to,” Chew reflects. “The publicity that came along was unexpected. In just a week, he had gone from being relatively hidden from the public eye to a household name. ![]() As his composure, congeniality and eloquence during the congressional hearing drew praise online, Chew’s 19,000 followers on TikTok grew to nearly four million. ![]() One unforeseen consequence of this virality came in the explosion of Chew’s public presence. Several global news outlets characterised the questioning targeted at Chew as “contentious” and “aggressive”-with US lawmakers repeatedly cutting him off midsentence-and video clips of the hearing quickly went viral. In March, the 40-year-old Singaporean testified in a US Congress hearing about TikTok’s relationship with China and protections for its youngest users. Since his appointment at TikTok, the social media platform specialising in short-form video content has grown considerably, surpassing one billion users worldwide under his leadership. I get the sense that a personal interview like this one is not yet second nature to him, but he is determined to make this worth my time.Ĭhew became the CEO of TikTok in May 2021, just two months after he had joined the app’s parent company-China-based ByteDance-as its chief financial officer. When he answers, he is open but never overshares. We sit down to chat and he listens to my questions intently. “I must say, I never expected to do a Vogue interview,” he jokes. When Shou Zi Chew bursts in, I leap to my feet, startled out of my reverie.ĭressed in a pair of jeans and a simple T-shirt, Chew makes a beeline for me with his hand outstretched. I am 15 minutes early for my meeting but the time passes quickly, thanks to a panoramic view of the city through the ceiling-to-floor windows bracketing the room. ![]() It is 3pm on a Monday and I am seated in a conference room on a high floor in Tiktok’s Singapore office.
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