TikTok COO Pappas quits after five years in the role

TikTok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas is stepping down after five years with the short-video company owned by China's ByteDance.

According to an email to staff seen by Reuters on Thursday, Pappas said they would be taking on an advisory role for the company during the transition.

"Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions," said Pappas, who uses the pronoun they.

ByteDance Chief Executive Shou Chew also announced Thursday in a memo to employees shared with Reuters that Zenia Mucha, previously a 20-year veteran at the Walt Disney Company, will join TikTok as chief brand and communications officer.

Adam Presser, TikTok's chief of staff, will become head of operations and oversee content, user operations and distribution, Chew said.

TikTok has faced scrutiny worldwide over security concerns due to its Chinese ownership.

U.S. lawmakers last week introduced new legislation to protect Americans' user data from being used by U.S. adversaries.

Last month, TikTok sued Montana after it became the first state to ban the app state-wide.