And yet, that\u2019s apparently the case for Shein\u2019s 40-year-old CEO Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu or Sky Xu, who has largely avoided the public eye including interviews and conferences\u2014but the secrecy around him is being seen as unusual even in China.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shein has never published any photos of Xu, South China Morning Post <\/em>reported<\/a>, even as the firm records year after year of skyrocketing sales<\/a> in the billions and besting rivals<\/a> like H&M and Zara. Despite Shein\u2019s rise to prominence, its CEO has largely remained in the shadows. That could change as the company continues working towards its highly anticipated debut as a public company.\u00a0<\/p>\n A number of things help explain the CEO\u2019s reclusive tendencies. Xu, as described by South China Morning Post, <\/em>is a \u201cwiry, bespectacled,\u201d and humble man who \u201coften goes unnoticed by staff in the office.\u201d According to several people who worked with Xu, the publication stated, the Chinese billionaire chooses to avoid a national spotlight because of his personality\u2014and to minimize any inadvertent scrutiny Shein could face if there were more attention on him.<\/p>\n Anthony Devlin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Shein is headquartered<\/a> in Singapore but was founded<\/a> in China\u2014and Chinese CEOs face different kinds of pressures<\/a> from the Chinese government. They often take measures to minimize attention from government party officials, who can exert substantial control<\/a> over their companies and personal lives. More than a dozen<\/a> top Chinese business billionaires, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma<\/a>, have vanished or disappeared in recent years in connection with Beijing\u2019s crackdown on uprooting corruption in the economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n All things considered, though, Xu\u2019s air of mystery is still unusual. No verified photos of him exist, and his company photo is simply a basic landscape marked with the phrase, \u201cif you have dreams, you are remarkable,\u201d according to the South China Morning Post<\/em><\/a>. He has never made any public speeches or released videos to his customer base on social media, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shein, now the largest and fastest-growing apparel company in the world<\/a>, is reportedly about to file a prospectus with Britain\u2019s Financial Conduct Authority, one of the first steps it needs to get approved to launch its initial public offering (IPO) of shares, which is valued at about $63 billion<\/a> on the London Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n Once it becomes a public company, Shein would have to forgo many liberties it once took while private. Publicly traded companies, for example, are subject to disclosure requirements\u2014such as filing quarterly and annual financial reports and flagging important company moves by senior executives, like stock trading, selling assets, or considering acquisitions\u2014and are often required to answer to shareholders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shein first sought to go public in the U.S. last November, and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confidentially, which is a common practice by companies meant to avoid disclosing sensitive data. The SEC informed Shein its application would not be accepted<\/a> unless it was filed publicly.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Catch-22 to a public filing, as Shein may be realizing, is that it also comes with more public scrutiny\u2014and the company has not been without its bad press.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2022, a Bloomberg investigation<\/a> said the retailer was sourcing its cotton from China\u2019s Xinjiang<\/a> province, even despite growing evidence<\/a> that agricultural products from the region depend on forced labor by the region\u2019s persecuted Uyghur population. In 2021, the U.S. passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)<\/a>, which barred any products from Xinjiang from entry into the U.S., based on a presumption that such products rely on forced labor. Shein, however, was able to slip through a loophole in that act: Shein ships its products directly to customers, bypassing the large shipment warehouses that the America\u2019s Customs and Border Patrol inspect, and are therefore not subject to inspections under the act.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rather than re-applying publicly in the U.S, the fast-fashion company now reportedly plans to file<\/a> its IPO in the U.K., where it may face different challenges from the country\u2019s Labour Party, which largely focuses on workers\u2019 rights and is widely expected to win<\/a> elections.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n An investigation<\/a> from Public Eye, a Swiss-based human rights violations watchdog, found Shein workers clocked in 75-hour work weeks, and other reports<\/a> allege company violations like forced labor, stealing other designers\u2019 work, and using potentially hazardous materials in clothing.<\/p>\n![\"Reality](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/GettyImages-2147907017-e1718741384126.jpg?w=1440&q=75\"\/)