TikTok taps Harvard-educated executive, who previously served at Didi Chuxing, to lead app’s e-commerce product development

TikTok, the global hit short video app owned by Chinese tech unicorn ByteDance, is set to ramp up its online retail initiatives, as Harvard-educated executive Kevin Chen Xi will join the platform as head of e-commerce product and data, according to people who were briefed on the appointment.

Chen joined Beijing-based ByteDance in December 2020 and served as president of its news aggregator app Jinri Toutiao, following a nearly five-year stint as president of the ride-sharing business group at Didi Chuxing, where he also headed platform product and operations.

In his new role, Chen will spearhead online retail product operations at TikTok and report to Bob Kang Zeyu, who serves as president of e-commerce at the platform.

The new appointment reflects the increased focus of ByteDance in e-commerce as part of efforts to diversify revenue streams, months after the company revealed plans to expand that business to the US and Brazil.

With more than 1 billion users around the world, TikTok has found significant e-commerce success in Southeast Asia through its TikTok Shop – a marketplace built into the app that facilitates transactions, while users watch short videos and live streams.