WhatsApp head steps down; Kunal Shah to take over
by Joe Fisher · UPIJune 22 (UPI) -- WhatsApp head Will Cathcart announced Monday that he is stepping down from his role with the company and Kunal Shah, founder of CRED, will take his place.
Cathcart served as the head of Meta's messaging app for almost seven years. He will continue to play a role in Meta's leadership.
"I'm so proud of what we have built," Cathcart posted on social media. "We scaled end-to-end encrypted messaging to more than three billion people. We brought it to group chats, companion devices, new surfaces -- and defended people's right to a private conversation across the globe."
Shah, the new WhatsApp lead, founded the financial technology company CRED, based in India, in 2018. He was also an investor and adviser to start-ups in India and southeast Asia.
Shah announced that he is "stepping back" from CRED and Miten Sampat will assume the role of interim CEO.
Meta is a minority investor in CRED, Shah said.
"While it's come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive," he said in a social media post. "Will, thank you for scaling something the world relies on quietly, and for making this transition smooth."
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg credited Shah for creating "one of India's most important technology companies."
"I look forward to working with Kunal to continue to make WhatsApp the best service for billions of people and millions of businesses," Zuckerberg said.