Ex-TikTok and WeChat senior exec Lionel Sim joins Bondee

Metaverse-focused app Bondee has hired former TikTok executive Lionel Sim to oversee the app’s partnerships and commercial opportunities with advertisers. 

Sim, a Singaporean, spent two years in China with Tencent as global head of marketing and partnerships for WeChat till December 2018 before joining rival Bytedance, where he spent more than three years as global head of agency for TikTok. 

Sim then returned to Singapore after leaving TikTok, and most recently spent close to a year as global chief commercial officer at gaming company Livewire.  

Campaign understands Sim is making the move as he is keen to return to an app environment, similar to his previous stints at TikTok and WeChat. 

"I'm really excited and grateful to be taking on this role at Bondee, which lines up perfectly with what I'm passionate about," said Sim.  

"I love building businesses and bringing communities together, and I’m looking forward to forging win-win partnerships that will add value and deliver joy to Bondee users. We are actively listening to customer feedback and embracing the opportunity to work hand in hand with partners to shape innovative commercial models together.”  

This is the second senior hire the app has made in recent weeks, having appointed Fei Yue as its new chief executive officer last week. Fei joined from Meta, where she was most recently head of gaming for Asia Pacific, having spent close to a decade at the platform. 

Commenting on Sim’s appointment, Fei said Bondee hopes to tap on Sim’s global background to build collaborations with businesses to drive monetisation at Bondee, 

“Lionel brings years of experience in establishing partnerships that drive growth for all partners, aligning perfectly with Bondee’s strategic goals,” added Fei. 

Fei and Sim will be based in Singapore, which is Bondee headquarters. 

Bondee has experienced rapid popularity, garnering two million downloads within weeks of its 2023 launch on major app stores. According to Data.ai, Bondee topped the charts for weekly downloads in several countries, including Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan, during the final week of January.  

Bondee claims to be a metaverse, but it more closely resembles a simulation game from the early 2000s. The app allows users to socialise with each other through their digital avatars, which they can style with different hairstyles, clothing, footwear, and accessories. Socialising activities include lounging in chairs, petting their pets, and standing around on the home page.  

For example, users can leave notes for friends who are offline and visit their virtual rooms to do the same. In addition, players can also participate in activities such as through the "sailing" feature, where users can explore unfamiliar universes to meet friends beyond their circle or enter private chats with their friends' avatars and go into "party mode" together. 

However, challenges have arisen, including data privacy concerns and user backlash over proposed features. Users have raised concerns about privacy following rumours of a data leak, which Metadream, the app's creator, has denied.  

In addition, reports linking Bondee to a Chinese developer have fueled these concerns. Users threatened to uninstall the app after learning about plans to introduce non-fungible tokens (NFTs), prompting Metadream to backtrack. 

Experts have cautioned brands considering Bondee collaborations to prioritise data privacy and the alignment of values between the brand and the platform. They have also warned of the evolving scam landscape and the need for continuous user protection education. 

Addressing this, Sim told Campaign he wants to ensure a safe and secure environment for users to express themselves, with the same principle applied to all partnerships and commercial initiatives he is looking to form for Bondee.

"Bondee takes strict measures to ensure that user data is processed securely and in accordance with our legal policy. We do not collect users' financial data," said Sim.