ByteDance Board Reshuffle: Coatue’s Laffont Steps Down, French Tycoon Niel Steps In Amidst IPO Uncertainty

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, sees the departure of Coatue's Laffont from its board and greets French businessperson Niel. It is rumored that Coatue wants to unload some of its ByteDance stocks with an IPO seeming unlikely.

ByteDance, the company behind popular short video app TikTok that's currently facing pressure to withdraw from the U.S. market, has announced that Philippe Laffont, the founder of Coatue Management based in New York, has stepped down from its board of directors. He has been succeeded by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel.

The official website of the Chinese corporation presently names four other members on their board: Liang Rubo, who serves as the CEO and chairman, Arthur Dantchik, co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, William Ford, the CEO and chairman of General Atlantic, and Neil Shen, the founder and managing partner of HongShan, previously known as Sequoia China.

Susquehanna, General Atlantic, and HongShan all have investments in ByteDance.

"We're thrilled to welcome Xavier to our board and eagerly anticipate his direction, feedback, and motivation," stated a ByteDance spokesperson. "We will persist in boosting the variety of abilities and knowledge within our board to protect the comprehensive interests of the company and all stakeholders."

Laffont will persist in backing the firm "as a board observer", the spokesperson stated, without providing further details about what this position involves.