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TikTok’s global marketing head, Kate Jhaveri, is planning to leave the company this month as part of a leadership shake-up, according to an internal memo distributed to employees.
The company will phase out Jhaveri’s role and, starting Monday, everyone in TikTok’s global brand and communications department will report solely to Zenia Mucha.
“Kate Jhaveri and I have been discussing our marketing strategy and how best to structure our marketing function to better meet the needs of the business and our cross-functional partners,” Mucha wrote in a letter to employees. “Together, we have determined that the best way to realize this vision is to remove our head of global marketing and bring everyone in Global Brand & Communications under one leader.”
Mucha previously served as Disney’s chief communications officer for 19 years, while Jhaveri previously served as chief marketing officer for the NBA and video streaming platform Twitch. Jhaveri did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Zuber Mohammed, who will report to Mucha, will now oversee consumer marketing in addition to product marketing and user communications teams.
Information First Reported Some of these changes are set to take effect on September 23rd.
TikTok has undergone some major organizational changes in recent months, including a round of layoffs in May as it restructured its operations and marketing teams, with former vice president of global communications Hilary McQuade leaving the company the same month. Posts On LinkedIn.
TikTok’s brand and communications teams have been navigating a turbulent past few weeks, putting the company’s business goals first while challenging the U.S. government over the Divest or Ban Act, which was passed in April.
The company argues that the law violates 170 million Americans’ First Amendment rights by depriving them of a free speech platform. The government argues that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, poses a national security risk because it is headquartered in Beijing.
Please see the full memo sent to staff below.
Brand and communications organizational update
Hello everyone! As we continue to evolve to bring the most value to our partners across the company and our brands, I wanted to share some recent changes within our Global Brand & Communications team. As you know, we made significant structural changes to our organization last May to create a stronger, more strategic, and collaborative approach. We are continually evaluating and adjusting our organization to ensure we are agile and able to respond to the challenges of a changing environment while still supporting the needs of the company.
We are fortunate to have great people at our company. Our challenge is to position and empower them to fully utilize their capabilities and maximize our collective impact. To that end, we are looking to further integrate and strengthen our marketing, communications and CSR efforts to truly speak with one voice, creating opportunities to connect and communicate with all the stakeholders that are critical to our success.
Kate Jhaveri and I have been having ongoing discussions about our marketing strategy and how best to structure our marketing function to create a more cohesive organization designed to better meet the needs of the business and our cross-functional partners.
We decided that the best way to realize this vision was to remove our Head of Global Marketing, bring everyone in Global Brand & Communications under one leader, and align our work and goals toward one overarching vision. As such, Kate will be leaving the company at the end of September.
On behalf of TikTok’s leadership team, I’d like to thank Kate for her incredible contributions during her tenure, particularly her data-driven marketing, creativity and leadership through our recent restructuring.
We will be making some changes to our marketing leadership team, effective Monday, September 23. We are grateful for this team and their ability to lead our marketing efforts while supporting the company’s immediate needs and long-term goals.
With Kate’s departure, some of our current marketing leaders will report directly to me and continue in their current scope of work; their teams will remain unchanged.
- Dexter Fedor to continue as brand and creative leader
- Manish Gupta will continue in his role as head of marketing strategy, insights and analytics.
- Alistair Rennie will become head of strategic media planning to better reflect the role.
I have asked Zuber to take charge of both global product and consumer marketing, including our newly established marketing regions (AMS, EMEA, APAC). Product marketing and user communications will continue to report to Zuber. Alastair Boyle, Jordan Guo, and Carol Baracat will now report to Zuber, who will report to me.
Finally, we are also making changes to our Social Media team to deliver a more scalable model for Global Brand & Communications, which will result in Helen Lawrence and her team reporting to Erin Fors.
Change is often difficult, but we sincerely appreciate your support and patience as we continue to build a stronger organization. I look forward to working closely with you.