As TikTok 's destiny is being addressed at the highest levels of government in the U.S. and China, and in the boardrooms of tech companies, his new head has one of the hardest roles in American business: holding a spot in the middle of the diplomatic chaos.
Vanessa Pappas, who was appointed to run TikTok last month after the sudden resignation of her recently named CEO, may emerge as one of the most powerful tech executives in the world — or a footnote in a long-running saga when circumstances turn against the company.
Two years ago, the 41-year-old Australian entered TikTok with a mission to persuade Americans to follow a video-sharing service that was owned by a Chinese holding group, ByteDance Ltd., and barely known in the U.S. outside teenage trendsetting. Now, her job is to help TikTok survive, which she says is the shared aim of the employees of the organization.
This common historical moment is very literally going to bind all of us forever, said Mrs. Pappas in a recent interview.
As interim head of TikTok, Ms. Pappas succeeded Kevin Mayer, a former CEO of Walt Disney Co. who joined in June as a splash of hires that seemed to reflect the company's growing aspirations.
Within weeks after joining, though, Trump's administration officials have gradually begun to openly express their national security worries about a Chinese-owned app that holds data on millions of Americans.
TikTok said that Beijing had never asked for its user data, nor would the company supply it if needed. Mr. Mayer helped the organization put out efforts to reform its organizational structure to help it resolve the current U.S. National Security Investigation. Then, within a couple of days in late July & early August, Microsoft Corp. announced it was in negotiations to acquire TikTok 's U.S. operations, & Trump released an executive order that would block the U.S. software if it didn't find an American buyer.
Since then, Walmart Inc. has joined the Microsoft offer, while Oracle Corp. has been heading a competing campaign, with different systems in operation.
Mr. Mayer resigned unexpectedly at the end of August, saying that the political climate has changed since taking office, placing Ms. Pappas in charge of about 1,500 people in the U.S. and thousands worldwide.
Ms. Pappas is not closely interested with the high-profile contract negotiations that take place with long teleconferences around the U.S. and Asia. Rather, its job is to keep TikTok workers engaged and the app running smoothly for its more than 650 million global users, a person familiar with the matter said.
The fact that she is well-known internally is a bonus, claim current and former staff, some of whom wished to see her called CEO before Mr. Mayer was hired. Having joined after the pandemic, Mr. Mayer never worked at the company's new 120,000-square-foot office in Culver City , California. Mrs. Pappas, on the other hand, has experienced TikTok as an old man, with almost two years of service under her belt and proven partnerships within the business from her tenure as general manager.
Less than 24 hours after Mr. Mayer's departure was announced, Ms. Pappas arranged three Zoom calls across various time zones to talk with staff around the globe.
In broadcasts from her home city of Los Angeles, she called TikTok a multinational network that tears down walls, boundaries and racial divisions and urged workers to learn about the positive effects they have on the lives of their consumers.
Ms. Pappas' message of positivity was remarkable — and essential, some workers said, after the month of uninterrupted chaos. ByteDance has recently offered its global workers a bonus of half a month's salary to appreciate their efforts in the current "macro climate," according to people who are familiar with the matter.
A spokeswoman for TikTok said the organization is optimistic that it can find a settlement that guarantees the app's durability.
As any good business will do, we are at the same time making strategies to strive to ensure that our U.S. employees continue to be paid for whatever result, she said.
