TikTok owner ByteDance announces China leaders, targets 100,000 global headcount

Tik Tok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo in this illustration. (Reuters Photo)

Beijing-based ByteDance, owner of global short video hit TikTok, has appointed new heads for its China business and set a goal to reach a global headcount of 100,000 this year, it said on Thursday.

The eight-year-old startup named Zhang Lidong as the chairman of its China business, while Kelly Zhang Nan, the head of its Chinese short video app Douyin, will be the business's chief executive, it said.

Both will report to the company's founder and global CEO Zhang Yiming, who will shift his focus to the company's global expansion plans, the firm said.