The command of WhatsApp is now in the hands of Indian entrepreneur Kunal Shah, Will Cathcart left the post

New Delhi. There has been a major leadership change in the world’s largest messaging platform WhatsApp. Meta has appointed Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech company CRED, as the new head of WhatsApp. He replaces Will Cathcart, who has been leading the platform for the past seven years.

Will Cathcart announced his departure on social media, saying that WhatsApp is in the strongest position in its history and he felt the time was right to hand over the responsibility. However, he will remain associated with Meta and will work on the development of new generation products in the company.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg welcomed Kunal Shah’s appointment, saying that he has built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies and that he has a global perspective and innovative mindset that can shape the future of WhatsApp.

Kunal Shah is counted among the leading startup entrepreneurs of India. He founded CRED in 2018, which started as a service that rewards customers who make credit card payments on time. Today this company is also active in the fields of payments, loans, insurance and other financial services.

The appointment comes as Meta has invested approximately $900 million in CRED. According to reports, after this investment Meta will get about 20 percent stake in the company. CRED has clarified that Meta will not have any access to the personal data of its customers.

It is noteworthy that India is the biggest market of WhatsApp. In such a situation, an Indian entrepreneur taking charge of the world’s most popular messaging platform is being considered a big achievement for the Indian startup ecosystem. There is widespread reaction on social media also regarding the appointment of Kunal Shah.