Kate Jhaveri, TikTok’s head of global marketing, is leaving the company this month as part of a leadership shake-up, according to an internal memo shared with staffers.
The company is phasing out Jhaveri’s role and beginning on Monday, everyone in TikTok’s global brand and communications division will report solely to Zenia Mucha.
“Kate Jhaveri and I have had ongoing discussions about our marketing strategy and how best to structure the marketing function to create a more cohesive organization designed to better meet the needs of the business and our cross-functional partners,” Mucha wrote to staffers. “Together, we decided the best way to achieve this vision is to remove the head of global marketing role, and bring everyone within Global Brand & Comms under one leader.”
Mucha previously served for 19 years as chief communications officer at Disney. Jhaveri previously held chief marketing officer roles for the NBA and video-streaming platform Twitch. Jhaveri did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Zuber Mohammed, who reports to Mucha, will now oversee consumer marketing in addition to the product marketing and user communications teams.
The Information first reported some of these changes, which are set to go into effect on September 23.
TikTok has undergone several big organizational changes in recent months, conducting a round of layoffs in May as it reshaped its operations and marketing teams. Its former VP of global communications, Hilary McQuaide, exited the company that same month, the executive posted on LinkedIn.
TikTok’s brand and communications team has been navigating choppy waters in recent weeks as it seeks to keep the company’s business objectives front-and-center while also challenging the US government over a divest-or-ban bill signed into law in April.
The company is arguing that the law would violate the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans by depriving them of a free speech platform. The government is claiming that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its Beijing-headquartered owner ByteDance.
Read the full memo sent to staffers below:
Brand & Comms Organizational Update
Hi everyone. I want to update you on recent changes within the Global Brand & Comms team as we continue to evolve to drive maximum value for our partners across our company and our brand. As you know, last May we made some significant structural changes to the organization to create what we believe is a much stronger, more strategic and collaborative approach. We continuously assess and adjust our structure so we can be nimble in meeting the challenges of a changing landscape while supporting the needs of the company.
Fortunately, we have a wealth of talent across our team – our challenge is to correctly position and empower them to fully leverage their abilities and maximize their collective impact. To that end, we have been looking at further integrating and enhancing our marketing, communications and CSR efforts, so we are truly speaking with one voice and creating opportunities to connect and communicate with all stakeholders vital to our success.
Kate Jhaveri and I have had ongoing discussions about our marketing strategy and how best to structure the marketing function to create a more cohesive organization designed to better meet the needs of the business and our cross-functional partners.
Together, we decided the best way to achieve this vision is to remove the head of global marketing role, and bring everyone within Global Brand & Comms under one leader, aligning our work and goals toward one comprehensive vision. As such, Kate will be transitioning from the company at the end of September.
On behalf of TikTok’s leadership, we thank Kate for her many contributions during her tenure, especially with regard to data-driven marketing, creativity, and her leadership during the recent restructuring.
Effective Monday, September 23, we are making some changes to the marketing leadership team. We both appreciate 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 leads will now report directly to me and continue in their current scope. Their teams will remain unchanged.
- Dexter Fedor remains brand & creative lead
- Manish Gupta remains marketing strategy, insights and analytics lead
- Alistair Lennie will become strategic media planning lead to better reflect the role
I have asked Zuber to take on both global product & consumer marketing, which includes the newly established Marketing regions (AMS, EMEA and 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 a change to our social media team to enable a more scalable model for Global Brand & Comms. As as result, Helen Lawrence and her team will move to report to Erin Fors.
While change is often challenging, I sincerely appreciate your support – along with your patience – as we continue to build a stronger organization. I look forward to working closely with all of you.
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