Home / Business and Economy / WhatsApp CEO Steps Down for New Meta Role
WhatsApp CEO Steps Down for New Meta Role
23 Jun
Summary
- Will Cathcart is stepping down as WhatsApp head after seven years.
- Kunal Shah, CRED founder, will replace Cathcart as WhatsApp CEO.
- Meta invests $900 million in CRED, acquiring a minority stake.
Will Cathcart announced on Monday that he is stepping down as the head of WhatsApp after a seven-year tenure. He will transition to a new role within Meta, focusing on building new products from the ground up.
Kunal Shah, the founder and CEO of the Indian fintech startup CRED, will succeed Cathcart as the new CEO of WhatsApp. Shah's experience building CRED, which boasts 17 million monthly members and processes significant credit card payments in India, is seen as valuable for the messaging app's next phase.
This leadership transition occurs as Meta increases its capital expenditure forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion for 2026, driven by AI infrastructure investments. The company is also expanding its subscription offerings across its platforms, including WhatsApp.
In conjunction with Shah's appointment, Meta is investing approximately $900 million in CRED, securing a minority stake in the company valued at over $4 billion. CRED has assured that Meta will not have access to customer information through this investment.
