Many success stories have come out of the pandemic, but Zoom is quite likely the greatest of them all. In early 2020, as COVID-19 spread rapidly across the globe, millions of people were forced to stay home. Schools closed and children began learning from home; fitness fanatics had to find new ways to exercise without the gym; friends could no longer catch up over Friday night drinks; and we couldn’t celebrate birthdays with parties.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for leaders, however, was the fact that their entire teams were suddenly working remotely. Daily communication that had previously been so effortless in an office environment became a huge challenge. And that’s where Zoom came to the rescue. It wasn’t the only video chat platform available at the time, but it experienced the most dramatic uptake in users. In April 2020, Zoom announced it had 300 million daily meeting participants, up from 10 million six months earlier. Some people might have imagined that this success would be short-lived, yet the intuitive videoconferencing tool’s popularity continued to increase and Zoom was named Apple’s most downloaded app of 2020.

The platform was initially used by businesses to hold video meetings with employees, yet the reality of the global pandemic soon saw everyday people flocking to Zoom to participate in education, fitness sessions, trivia nights, parties, graduations and weddings. It seemed nearly everything we used to do in the real world could be done virtually.

Humans are inherently social beings; we crave interaction with other people – and Zoom helped to fulfil this need. Prior to the pandemic, the majority of people outside of the business world probably hadn’t even heard of it. Fast forward six months and it had become so much a part of our everyday lives that the term ‘Zoom’ had even entered our vocabulary as a verb.

This might sound like an overnight success story, but for Zoom Founder and CEO Eric Yuan, it was decades in the making. In this issue’s cover story, we delve into the story behind Zoom. Yuan came up with the idea while he was in college and in a long-distance relationship with his now-wife. Exhausted during a 10-hour train journey to see his girlfriend, he was determined to find an easier way for people to see their loved ones. This was the tiny spark of an idea that led to Zoom.

When the platform first launched a decade ago, it was primarily used as a business tool. Yet the pandemic brought Zoom into people’s everyday lives and homes in such a way that Yuan never could have pictured as he stood in that crowded train carriage. And now it seems Zoom has come full circle, with people using it not only for business, but also to stay connected with loved ones, just as Yuan imagined so long ago.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue.

Jodie Darlington,  Managing Editor

The CEO Magazine is more than a premier business title: we are a source of information, inspiration and motivation for the world’s most successful leaders, executives, investors and entrepreneurs. An iconic, global media brand, we inspire and promote excellence within the business world. Through our four editorial cornerstones – Inspire, Innovate, Invest and Indulge – we delve deeper into both the professional and personal lives of business leaders, exploring the lifestyle interests and pursuits of this affluent audience. Our content creates conversations on all platforms, while our voice is the one that matters to decision makers and game changers.

Managing Editor – Asia, India and North & South America
JODIE DARLINGTON

Managing Editor – Executive Interviews
RUTH DEVINE

Managing Editor – ANZ and EMEA
SANCHIA PEGLEY

Chief Subeditor
KARINA PIDDINGTON

Deputy Chief Subeditor
OLGA JEVDIC

Senior Subeditor
AMANDA SHAW

Senior Staff Writers
JULIE COOPER, ANNE MAJUMDAR, MICHAEL WAYNE

Staff Writers
STEPHEN CROWE, JACOB GOLDBERG

Digital Content Editors
MIKE HUYNH, EMILY PIDGEON

Digital Content Writer
MARLENA BATCHELOR

Global Art Director
DAVID ASHFORD

Global Senior Graphic Designers
JAMES SCARDINO, MATT TAN   

      Global Junior Graphic Designer
RESSIANI SANTOSA

Global Motion Graphics Designer
NICOLE HADJIMICHAEL

Director of Technology & Innovation
SEBASTIEN HEBERT

Social Media Coordinator
BENEDICT FERNANDEZ

WordPress Content Publisher
CYRENAICA GINETE

Digital Marketing Coordinator
JAN WILLOW PONTINO

IT Systems Admin
ELIUS CHOWDHURY

Lead Developer
ROHAN MEHTA

Software Engineer
ANIT PIMPLE

PR & Communications Director
EMILY EWENS

Regional Manager
DAISY TAN

Team Manager (Asia) and Acting Team Manager (Greater China)
RIO PUTRA SALIM

Country Manager (Philippines)
KRISHNA ADVANI     

Team Manager (Asia)
        CRIS-AN SAGABAEN        

Senior Media Managers
MARC MARANAN, BELINDA WONG

Media Managers (Asia)
SUNIE LOW, YUMIKO MASDA, MANPREET MINHAS

Media Managers (Greater China)
         NICHOLE LI, ANGIE REN, KAIA ZHANG         

Research Assistants
ABDIEL JOEZER GRAJALES, RENZ JACK RODIQUE, JESSICA SALVADOR,
SOPHIA THOMSON, NOEMIE VITERALE

Global Accounts Receivable & Client Relations Manager
SASHA SIVAKUMAR

Financial Controller
ANA CARAPINA

Operations Assistant
EMMA CRUMP

Production Coordinator
JOSEPHINE YOW

  Office Administrator
STEPHANIE LOH

Office Manager (Manila) 
JENILENE DALAN

Finance Manager (Asia)
HENG HOOK TYE          

Accounts
JACQUELINE XIAO – [email protected]

Chief of Staff
LAURA REDMOND

HR Manager – APAC
KRYSTINA MARTIN

EXECUTIVE TEAM

Founder
CHRIS DUTTON

Co-Founder & Executive Director
ANNA DUTTON

CEO
DAVID JEPSON

CFO
SANJEEV AGRAWAL

Operations Director
CIARA FLETCHER

Global Marketing Director
TOD RIDGWAY

Executive Assistant
MELANIE MARTIN

ENQUIRIES
[email protected]