Meta has appointed Indian technology entrepreneur Kunal Shah to take charge of WhatsApp, marking a significant leadership change at the company’s largest messaging platform.
Shah will succeed Will Cathcart, who is stepping aside after nearly seven years in the role. Cathcart oversaw a period of rapid expansion that took WhatsApp beyond three billion users worldwide, while the service added stronger privacy protections, business messaging features, payments, and artificial intelligence tools.
Announcing his departure on social media, Cathcart said WhatsApp was in “the strongest position it’s ever been,” but added that it “felt like the right moment to step back.” He will remain part of Meta’s senior leadership rather than leaving the company entirely.
Shah is best known as the founder of CRED, a Bengaluru-based financial technology company launched in 2018. The members-only platform built its reputation by rewarding customers with strong credit records for paying their credit card bills on time. It has since expanded into lending, wealth management, shopping, and other financial services.
Before CRED, Shah co-founded digital payments company FreeCharge. He has also backed and advised several start-ups across India and Southeast Asia, earning a prominent place in the region’s technology sector.
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Shah had built “one of India’s most important technology companies.” He also said the entrepreneur “brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app.”
“I look forward to working with Kunal to continue to make WhatsApp the best service for billions of people and millions of businesses,” Zuckerberg said.
The appointment comes alongside Meta’s planned $900 million investment in CRED, which is expected to give the U.S. technology company a minority stake of about 20 per cent. Shah will step away from CRED’s daily management but retain his shareholding. He said Meta would have “no access to member data.”
India is WhatsApp’s biggest market and plays a central role in Meta’s efforts to expand the app beyond private messaging. The company has increasingly explored paid business services, advertising, digital payments, commerce, and AI-based features.
Shah will now be tasked with growing those services while addressing regulatory concerns over privacy, competition, and data sharing.