ByteDance Shakes Up Board: Coatue’s Laffont Departs, French Entrepreneur Niel Steps In Amidst Share Sales and IPO Uncertainties

ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, bids farewell to Laffont from Coatue on its board, while greeting French businessperson Niel. Coatue is said to be looking to offload some of its ByteDance stocks, as a public offering still seems unlikely.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok which is currently facing pressure to leave the US 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 firm presently mentions four other members of the board: Liang Rubo, who serves as CEO and chairman, Arthur Dantchik, a co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, William Ford, the CEO and chairman of General Atlantic, and Neil Shen, who is the managing partner and creator of HongShan, previously known as Sequoia China.

ByteDance has received investments from Susquehanna, General Atlantic, and HongShan.

"We are thrilled to welcome Xavier to our board and anticipate benefiting from his advice, involvement, and motivation," stated a representative from ByteDance. "We remain committed to boosting the variety of abilities and knowledge within our board to protect the collective interests of the company and all stakeholders."

Laffont will remain involved with the company as a "board observer," the spokesperson stated, without providing further details about what this position involves.