WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart resigns; Kunal Shah appointed successor

Will Cathcart has announced that he will step down as the head of WhatsApp after nearly seven years of leading the messaging platform’s expansion to more than three billion users worldwide.

Cathcart made the announcement in a series of social‑media posts on Monday, noting that WhatsApp is “in the strongest position it’s ever been” and that it “felt like the right moment to step back.”

Although he is leaving the role, Cathcart will stay on within Meta’s leadership team. Meta has named Kunal Shah, the founder of the Indian fintech company Cred, as the new head of WhatsApp.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg praised Shah, saying he had built “one of India’s most important technology companies” with Cred.

“He brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app,” Zuckerberg added. “I look forward to working with Kunal to continue to make WhatsApp the best service for billions of people and millions of businesses.”

Cred, founded in Bengaluru, has aimed to disrupt India’s payments sector with a members‑only model that rewards customers for making timely credit‑card payments.

Before launching Cred in 2018, Shah worked as an investor and adviser to several start‑ups across India and Southeast Asia, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In a post on Monday, Shah said he would retain his stake in Cred while taking on his new responsibilities at WhatsApp. He also revealed that the company had secured $900 million (£679 million) in funding from Meta.

Bloomberg reports that the investment gives Meta a 20% stake in the fintech company.

Shah emphasized that, although Meta would become a minority investor in Cred, the social‑media giant would have “no access to member data.”