Los Angeles: TikTok Chief Operating Officer V. Pappas is stepping down after five years with the short-video company owned by China’s ByteDance, according to an email seen by Reuters on Thursday. In an email to staff, Pappas said they would be taking on an advisory role for the company during the transition. “Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions,” said Pappas, who uses the pronoun they. ByteDance Chief Executive Shou Chew also announced Thursday in a memo to employees shared with Reuters that Zenia…