Seeing the Unseen

Introduction

IN MAY 2020, KEVIN Mayer, a seasoned media executive, resigned from the Walt Disney Company to join ByteDance, raising a lot of eyebrows.

For the first time, an established Chinese tech company managed to convince such a high-profile American executive to join—in the executive's home market. Even more impressive, Mayer's new role, CEO of TikTok and COO of its parent company ByteDance, made him the first American executive given the power to run a major and most critical business unit of a Chinese internet company.

He was obviously qualified: at Disney he was in charge of streaming businesses, international channels, advertising sales, and distribution, as chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI). There were rumors that his departure was because Bob Iger, the outgoing CEO of Disney, named Bob Chapek instead of Mayer as the successor of the Disney empire.

Commentators were, however, split. Some cheered this as a new era, where Chinese tech companies can tap into top global talent; others were more skeptical, citing the cultural fit that has crippled many other foreign executives (mostly of lower ranks) in Chinese tech companies. Either way, people agreed on ByteDance's boldness in international expansion, taking a step that East Asian companies rarely take.

Barely three months later, Mayer announced his resignation from his roles at ByteDance, leaving the company.

Even from the outside, the three months looked like a wild roller-coaster ride. ...