WhatsApp head Will Cathcart is stepping down after seven years

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Kunal Shah, the founder of an Indian fintech startup, will take over Cathcart’s role.

Kunal Shah, the founder of an Indian fintech startup, will take over Cathcart’s role.

by Emma Roth

Jun 22, 2026, 2:14 PM UTC

Illustration: The Verge

Emma Roth

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Will Cathcart, who led WhatsApp for the past seven years, is stepping down from his role as Meta appoints a new leader. On Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook that Kunal Shah, the founder of an Indian fintech startup called Cred, is taking over as the head of WhatsApp.

Cred is an app that allows people to manage their bills and receive rewards for making payments through the platform. As part of Shah’s appointment, Meta is investing $900 million into Cred, giving it a 20 percent stake in the startup, Bloomberg reports.

Cathcart became the head of WhatsApp in 2019, and while at the helm, he oversaw some big changes, like the introduction of encrypted chat backups in 2021. More recently, Cathcart led WhatsApp as the messaging app expanded to the iPad, introduced ads, and added private chats with Meta’s AI chatbot. Cathcart isn’t leaving Meta completely and will take on a new role at the company, according to Zuckerberg.

Meanwhile, Shah will step down from his role as the CEO of Cred to lead WhatsApp. “Kunal built CRED into one of India’s most important technology companies, and he brings the kind of builder mentality and global perspective that will serve him well in running the world’s biggest messaging app,” Zuckerberg writes.

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