Coaching...
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TikTok has enlisted three heavyweights from American politics and business to advise it behind the scenes as the social-media app tries to convince U.S. authorities that it isn’t beholden to the Chinese government.
David Plouffe and Jim Messina, veterans of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, and Zenia Mucha, the former longtime communications chief of Walt Disney Co., DIS 1.27%increase; green up pointing triangle are advising TikTok in its fight against efforts to ban it in the U.S, according to people familiar with their roles.
All three helped coach TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew for more than a month ahead of what turned out to be a contentious U.S. House hearing last week, the people said.
In hiring the trio of U.S. advisers, TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is turning to people who made their name selling the world some of the most prominent American brands: Barack Obama and Disney. They also have experience straddling business and politics. Mr. Plouffe worked at Uber Technologies Inc. UBER 1.04%increase; green up pointing triangle after the White House, and Ms. Mucha advised Republican politicians in New York for years before her two-decade career at the entertainment giant.
A spokeswoman for TikTok said the company sought a diversity of views when it approached something of the magnitude of the congressional hearing. “That’s why we brought in additional folks,” she said.
