CRED founder Kunal Shah will take over as head of WhatsApp after Will Cathcart announced his departure from the role following nearly seven years leading the messaging platform.
Cathcart will remain at Meta in a different position focused on developing new products. He said WhatsApp was in its strongest position to date but that the timing was right for him to step back from its day-to-day leadership.
Cathcart Oversaw Growth Beyond Three Billion Users
Cathcart became head of WhatsApp in 2019 and led the platform as its monthly user base surpassed three billion. His tenure included the introduction of encrypted chat backups, support for additional devices, business services, advertising features, and Meta AI tools.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described Cathcart as one of the company’s most important leaders and credited him with helping WhatsApp expand while defending private communication.
WhatsApp has increasingly become a commercial platform as Meta seeks revenue beyond its core messaging service. The company has introduced tools that allow businesses to communicate with customers, process purchases, run advertisements, and deploy AI-powered support agents.
India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with more than 500 million users. Shah’s experience building a major Indian consumer technology company could support Meta’s efforts to expand WhatsApp payments and business services in the country.
Meta Invests $900 Million in CRED
Shah founded Bengaluru-based CRED in 2018 as a members-only service that rewards users for paying credit card bills on time. The company has since expanded into lending, insurance, wealth management, payments, and lifestyle services.
Alongside Shah’s appointment, Meta will lead a $900 million financing round in CRED through primary and secondary share purchases. The investment values CRED at about $4.5 billion and will give Meta a minority stake of approximately 20%.
CRED said Meta would not receive access to customer information. Shah will retain his personal shareholding but step down as chief executive, with strategy and finance head Miten Sampat becoming interim CEO.
CRED says it serves 17 million members each month and processes more than 40% of India’s credit card bill payments. It also manages approximately $2.5 billion in lending assets for partner financial institutions.
Shah Brings Consumer and Fintech Experience
Before creating CRED, Shah founded mobile payments company FreeCharge, which was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015. He later advised and invested in startups across India and Southeast Asia.
Zuckerberg said Shah’s experience building CRED demonstrated the entrepreneurial approach and international perspective needed to run the world’s largest messaging service. Shah will be responsible for WhatsApp globally rather than only its operations in India.
Featured image credits: PickPik
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