TikTok names former Boeing executive as US public policy chief
Ojakli, who previously oversaw government affairs at Ford Motor and Softbank, will begin his new role December 1
TikTok said Tuesday it had named former Boeing government affairs chief Ziad Ojakli as the short video app’s head of public policy for the Americas as it works to complete a deal to separate its US assets from its parent company.
The move comes as TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is working to sell about an 80 per cent stake in its US assets to a consortium of US and global investors to meet the national security requirements set out in a 2024 law. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September giving them until late January to complete the deal.
Ojakli, who previously oversaw government affairs at Ford Motor and Softbank, will begin his new role December 1, TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi said in a memo announcing the hiring Tuesday. He noted that current public policy chief Michael Beckerman, a key figure in the company’s fight against a US government ban, said in April he planned to leave his role and move into a global advisory role.
TikTok faces questions about the divestiture plan.
Representative John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on China, said in October a licensing agreement for use of the TikTok algorithm would raise “serious concerns.” Democratic Senator Ed Markey also asked questions about the deal this week.