Popular social media app TikTok has been the talk of the town as it prepares to shut down completely in the US on January 19. All eyes are on the app’s chief executive officer Chew Shou Zi once again, as he is reportedly attending the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. According to various news outlets, he also received an invitation to sit in a position of honour on the dais, where former presidents, family members and other distinguished guests are traditionally seated. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has not released any official statement thus far.

Chew, who was born and bred in Singapore, has remained in the spotlight ever since he made international headlines after his first appearance before the US Congress in March 2023. Last year, he attended another US Senate hearing that focused on big tech and the online child exploitation crisis. Here, he was intensely grilled by US Senator Tom Cotton on his Singaporean citizenship. Last year, Chew also served as one of the honorary chairs of the Met Gala 2024, for which TikTok was the lead sponsor.

Unsurprisingly, many have been curious about Chew’s background and how he rose to become the chief executive of one of the most popular social media apps in the world. Below, we list everything we know about him so far.

1. He met with US President-elect Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration

Chew met with US President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort on December 16, 2024, CNN reported. The news of the private meeting followed Trump’s recent suggestion to reverse the TikTok ban that he previously attempted to implement during his first presidential term in 2020. He has since switched his stance, telling reporters: “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok.”

Various tech leaders including Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook had reportedly met the President-elect ahead of his inauguration as well.

2. He served as one of the honorary chairs of the 2024 Met Gala

In 2024, the TikTok chief executive officer was named an honorary chair for the 2024 Met Gala, themed Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. He donned a sleek white tailored suit and was accompanied by his wife Vivian Kao who he met at Harvard Business School.

3. He initially had no big plans after graduating from University College London

In his 2022 University College London (UCL) alumni video address, he shares how he had no “big plans” for his future. He says: “After graduation, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or where life would take [me] … I worked hard with what I had. I put myself out there and I took chances when they came.” This led him to start his career as a banker for the Goldman Sachs Group in London a stint at venture capital firm DST Global.

4. He served his National Service

During the last Senate hearing, Chew shared that he served his National Service for two and a half years as a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.

5. His impressive educational background

After graduating from Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore in 1999, Chew went on to study at University College London where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in economics in 2006. He went on to receive his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Harvard Business School in 2010.

Over the years, Chew and his wife Vivian Kao have given back to the Harvard community significantly. The pair have helped out at class fundraising efforts and have joined the Harvard Business School alumni board and the school’s fund investors society. The latter recognises leadership donations to the Harvard Business School fund.

6. He met his wife at Harvard Business School

Chew met Kao over email while they were both studying at Harvard Business School in 2008 and began dating shortly after. Kao is an American of Taiwanese descent and, similar to Chew, received her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2010. They are currently married with two children.

7. He was an intern at Facebook

Chew’s first venture into the tech sector was during his MBA at Harvard Business School. While studying for his degree, Chew was also an intern at Facebook. At that time, the social media platform was still a start-up and would later go public in 2012.

8. He attended the Met Gala in 2022

The Met Gala 2022, themed In America: An Anthology of Fashion, saw some of the biggest celebrities and industry leaders walking down the red carpet while donning glamorous outfits. Among the attendees were Chew and his wife, Vivian.

9. He acquired a Good Class Bungalow

Good Class Bungalows (GCB) are one of the most exclusive properties available in Singapore; in 2021, it was reported that Chew purchased one at SG$86 million. According to Business Times, Chew’s property is located in Queen Astrid Park, one of Singapore’s most affluent districts. The property is also said to sit on an area of over 30,000 sq ft.

10. He was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs

One of Chew’s first full-time jobs was as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, a leading global financial institution that does investment management, consumer banking and more.

Chew was there from 2006 to 2008 before moving on to DST Investment Management where he was a partner from 2010 to 2015.

11. He used to be in the senior management team at Xiaomi Technology

Chew joined Xiaomi as their chief financial officer in 2015 where he brought unique investment insights and financial skills to the table.

Xiaomi is one of the biggest Chinese smartphone companies and Chew spent five years there. He held his role as chief financial officer till he moved into being the president of the company’s international business.

During his time, he was able to secure financing from investors and played a huge part in seeing Xiaomi get listed.

12. Chew started out as the chief financial officer of ByteDance

In 2017, Bytedance acquired the popular short-video platform, Musical.ly. The following year, it merged Musical.ly with TikTok to launch it into the global sensation it is today.

Later in March 2021, ByteDance—the parent company of TikTok—hired Chew as its new chief financial officer.

Chew remained in this position for only three months before he was promoted to chief executive of TikTok, a role which he continues to hold today.