By now, many must have heard the name Chew Shou Zi.
The 41-year-old chief executive officer (CEO) of TikTok went viral for his impressive performance last year while under pressure in the US Congress.
In March 2023, Chew endured a five-hour grilling session during the congressional hearing and answered difficult questions about TikTok’s links to China, among others.
He had to testify in court about what the app was doing to protect the safety and security of American users. This comes against the backdrop of worsening relations between Beijing and Washington, reported Today.
@mustsharenews How were these simple questions related to TikTok. 🫨🤯 #mustsharenews #sgnews #sgfyp #sg #singapore #sgtiktok #tiktoksg #entertainmentnews #tiktokceocongress #tiktokceoshouchew #tiktokceosingapore ♬ original sound – MustShareNews
He demonstrated his composure and eloquence again earlier this month at another US hearing — fending off repeated barbs from Senator Tom Cotton with the patience of a saint.
Here are five facts about the iconic Singaporean CEO, and his journey from childhood to now.
Chew Shou Zhi was born in Singapore on 1 January 1983. His father worked in construction and his mother was a bookkeeper, reported The Straits Times (ST).
The successful businessman had a relatively ‘normal’ childhood.
In an interview with Vogue, Chew recollected what it was like to grow up in Singapore in the 1980s and 1990s.
As a young boy, he attended a now-defunct neighbourhood school called Hong Dao Primary School and played football at the void deck — though he wasn’t the best at it.
He was then a student at The Chinese High School before joining Hwa Chong Junior College.
Like any other Singaporean son, Chew served his National Service (NS) and was a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.
He completed NS with vivid memories of training in the Bruneian jungles.
However, Chew’s journey would soon take him to major cities outside Singapore.
After his GCE ‘A’ Level examinations, he scored a spot at University College London (UCL) and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 2006.
“Growing up in Singapore, a small island state, I knew that I wanted to see as much of the world as possible,” said Chew in his UCL Alumni video address in 2022.
“After graduation, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, or where life would take me. In hindsight, there was no big plan.”
Instead, he worked hard with what he had, put himself out there, and took chances when they came.
These factors led to his two-year career as a banker for the Goldman Sachs Group in London, which opened more doors to companies such as DST Global.
To add to his already impressive CV, Chew landed an internship at Facebook while pursuing his MBA at Harvard Business School — from which he graduated in 2010.
At the time, Facebook was only just a start-up and would go public in 2012.
Chew joined Chinese consumer electronics firm Xiaomi in 2015 as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and became its international business president in 2019.
Before that, he had a stint as a partner at DST Global, an Internet investment firm.
While at DST from 2010 t0 2015, Chew led the team that became early investors in ByteDance in 2013, according to ST.
In building his professional career, the Singaporean had made a name for himself in London and then California.
He had collected experiences in the finance and tech sectors when it was booming, and made crucial connections with businessmen from around the world.
Chew would eventually, however, end up back in Singapore — albeit shuttling between TikTok’s headquarters here and in Los Angeles.
Now, Chew is based in Singapore, which is also where his family, parents and siblings are.
The Business Times reported in 2021 that he had purchased a Good Class Bungalow (GCB).
His S$86 million home in Singapore is reportedly located in Queen Astrid Park, Holland Road.
Even after years overseas, Chew has not forgotten his Singaporean roots.
He mentioned to Wired in a report published last month that as a child, he had looked up to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister.
Mr Lee was prime minister of the island state until he stepped down in 1990 and took on the non-executive position of senior minister.
There wasn’t much fanfare when Chew took over the reigns of TikTok in 2021. It was only in March last year that he was thrust into the public spotlight.
The circumstances were less than ideal for him, as he was grilled for more than five hours in US Congress.
Chew began his testimony by stressing his connections to Singapore. In his introduction, he said:
“I am Shou Chew and I’m from Singapore. That’s where I was born… and after serving in Singapore’s military I moved to the UK to attend college, and then here to the US to attend business school.”
Source: The Guardian
That was not the only time Chew name-dropped his home in front of US lawmakers.
Earlier this year, he appeared at the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which questioned leaders of the biggest social media companies if they are prioritising profits over the safety of its young users, said ChannelNews Asia (CNA).
Chew was bluntly asked by US Senator Tom Cotton if he had ties to China.
When Cotton asked if he had ever belonged to the Chinese Communist Party, Chew said:
Senator, I’m Singaporean. No.
This was after Chew confirmed that he was a Singapore citizen and that he served his nation in Singapore and has not applied for a Chinese citizenship.
Chew has had major success at TikTok since taking over as its CEO in 2021.
Under his leadership, the app has seen impressive numbers with more than 1 billion monthly active users.
Despite his undoubtedly busy schedule leading a multi-billion dollar company, Chew seems to spend his free time like any other Singaporean.
In May last year, he was spotted playing bumper cars with his children at VivoCity.
The more eagle-eyed of these netizens noted that he was wearing a shirt from Uniqlo — one of the brands well-loved and worn by Singaporeans.
More recently, he attended Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras’ tour in Singapore with his wife, Taiwanese-American Vivian Kao, and daughter, even sporting a friendship bracelet like any other Swiftie.
Source: @shou.time on TikTok
Even amid enjoying quality time with his family, Chew faces a problem in his professional career.
On 13 March, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to ban TikTok if it does not sever ties with its Chinese owner, ByteDance.
Chew has told the apps users to speak out in response to the motion.
“We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you,” said Chew.
“We believe we can overcome this together… Protect your constitutional rights. Make your voices heard.”
About half of the US population, 150 million people, use TikTok and Americans 18 and over are estimated to spend 55.8 minutes per day on the app, according to SEO website Backlinko.
Also read: ‘Again, I’m S’porean’: TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi Reminds Congress He Has No Chinese Citizenship
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Featured image adapted from The Star.
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