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Shant Oknayan
VP, ByteDance/TikTok Global Business
Shant Oknayan is a prominent business leader with extensive experience in the technology and digital marketing sectors. Here's a comprehensive overview of his professional background:
Current Positions
Shant Oknayan currently holds several high-level positions:
- Vice President, APAC, MEA & Eastern Europe, Global Business Solutions at TikTok (January 2023 - Present)
- VP Business, APAC, MEA & Eastern Europe at ByteDance (January 2023 - Present)
- Member Board of Directors at MMA APAC (March 2023 - Present)
In his roles at TikTok and ByteDance, he is responsible for overseeing business operations in approximately 100 countries across Asia (excluding India and China), Oceania, Middle East & Africa, and Eastern Europe. He manages a multi-billion dollar book of business and leads a large team across 15 offices.1
Previous Experience
Shant has an impressive track record in the tech industry:
- GM of East Europe, Middle East & Africa and Central Asia at TikTok and ByteDance (May 2020 - January 2023)
- Group Director, Middle East and North Africa at Meta (2016 - 2020)
- MENA Head of Marketing, Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) at Google (2014 - 2016)
- Senior Associate (Engagement Manager) at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) (2007 - 2011)
He also co-founded GlamBox Middle East, a subscription-based beauty e-commerce platform, where he served as a board member and founding CEO from 2012 to 2017.1
Education
Shant Oknayan has a strong educational background:
- MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005 - 2007)
- MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (1st Class Honors) from Imperial College London (1998 - 2002)1
Leadership and Achievements
Shant is known for his outstanding business leadership, bringing "light-hearted energy, intuition and strong business acumen" to his roles.1 He has been recognized for his achievements, including:
- Nomination as a Top 50 SME Executive
- Leading multi-million dollar acquisition efforts at Google
- Achieving triple-digit growth in new advertiser revenue at Google
- Developing YouTube's market entry strategy for the MENA region
His experience spans various aspects of digital marketing, business strategy, and technology, making him a valuable asset in his current roles at TikTok, ByteDance, and as a board member of MMA APAC.
Highlights
Japan has always had a special place in my mind and heart; growing up, I was in awe of the “made in Japan” innovations we would enthusiastically wait for (think Nintendo, the Walkman, Docomo phones just to name a few) and inspired by the cultural creativity that would originate from Japan (anime, manga, etc).
As such, it was a joy to talk to Digiday about the innovations and creativity we are seeing flourish on #TikTok in Japan; the platform is driving billions of yen in socioeconomic impact, enabling business both big and small to reinvent themselves while creating thousands of new job opportunities. And TikTok creators are driving cultural trends that are going viral, helping audiences globally savour that magical Japanese creativity I was so inspired by as a child.
Read more (in Japanese!) below.
“Let's make culture an intentional strategy by leveraging the tools that TikTok has deployed: whether it's looking at trends and insights on the TikTok Creative Centre; building videos using Symphony; or leveraging TikTok One to find your favourite creative partners.”
TikTok can thus help brands win in the journey from ‘add to heart’ to ‘add to cart’ powered by technology and AI.
Read more at:
