TikTok COO resigns after nearly five years

San Francisco, June 23

V Pappas, TikTok's chief operating officer (COO), has resigned after nearly five years at the Chinese short-video making app to "refocus" on her "entrepreneurial passions".

Pappas tweeted on Thursday, "After nearly 5 years at TikTok I am stepping down as COO. To our amazing community of creators, employees and people who have made TikTok 'the last sunny spot on the internet', it has been an absolute privilege to serve you all and to be a part of this once in a lifetime journey."

In a note to all Twitter employees, she said, "Five years ago when I was first approached by TikTok, I was incredibly inspired by the product vision to be a new mobile-first video experience that serves as a canvas, bridge and window for everyone."

"The pitch was to take on a role to transform and grow the product and broaden its appeal through developing diverse communities and content. I was sold."

"Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions," she added.

During the transition, she will stay at the company in an advisory role.

"In particular, supporting our diverse creators with efforts like our 'culture of credit' or 'visionary voices' initiatives has marked some of my personally most rewarding work," Pappas said.

According to Pappas' Linkedin profile, before joining TikTok, she had spent more than seven years at YouTube leading company-wide strategic growth initiatives at the intersection of content and product.