technology
Will Cathcart Steps Down as WhatsApp Head After Seven Years
Will Cathcart announced his departure from WhatsApp on Monday after leading the messaging service for nearly seven years. Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech firm Cred, will succeed him. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg welcomed the appointment.
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Will Cathcart announced on Monday that he is leaving his role as head of WhatsApp after nearly seven years. BBC News reported that Cathcart oversaw the platform's growth to more than three billion users worldwide. He stated in social media posts that the service was in the strongest position it has ever been and that it felt like the right moment to step back.
Cathcart will continue to hold a position within Meta's leadership ranks. Kunal Shah, who founded the Bengaluru-based fintech start-up Cred in 2018, will take over as head of WhatsApp. BBC News reported that Shah wrote on LinkedIn that Cred had raised $900 million in investment from Meta, giving the company a 20 percent stake.
Mark Zuckerberg said Shah had created one of India's most important technology companies with Cred. He added that Shah brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world's biggest messaging app. Zuckerberg said he looks forward to working with Shah to make WhatsApp the best service for billions of people and millions of businesses.
Shah stated that Meta would have no access to member data as a minority investor in Cred. WhatsApp has about 853 million users in India, according to World Population Review data cited by BBC News.
