Will Cathcart Steps Down; CRED Founder Kunal Shah To Lead WhatsApp
Will Cathcart is stepping down after seven years as WhatsApp chief, with CRED founder Kunal Shah set to take charge of the messaging giant.
Meta-owned WhatsApp is set for a major leadership transition, with long-serving chief Will Cathcart stepping down after nearly seven years at the helm. According to reports, Indian entrepreneur Kunal Shah, founder of fintech firm CRED, is expected to take over the messaging platform, marking a significant moment for both WhatsApp and India’s technology sector. The move comes as Meta sharpens its focus on digital payments and commerce, particularly in India, one of its most important growth markets and home to WhatsApp’s largest user base.
Cathcart Steps Down
Announcing his decision on social media, Will Cathcart said WhatsApp was in its strongest position ever, making it the right time to step aside. He highlighted the company’s success in expanding end-to-end encrypted messaging to more than three billion users worldwide and strengthening privacy protections for personal conversations.
Cathcart also praised Kunal Shah, describing him as a leader who has built one of India’s most influential technology companies and demonstrated a deep understanding of consumer needs.
Some personal news. After nearly 7 years leading WhatsApp, I'm excited to share who will take over the responsibility of delivering simple, reliable, and private messaging for the world. WhatsApp is in the strongest position it's ever been — and that felt like the right moment to…
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) June 22, 2026
Zuckerberg Backs Kunal Shah
Announcing the leadership transition, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised outgoing WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart for helping grow the platform to more than three billion users and strengthening its privacy-first approach. Zuckerberg said Cathcart would remain within Meta in a new role focused on building products from the ground up.
He also welcomed Kunal Shah as WhatsApp’s next leader, describing the CRED founder as a builder with a global outlook who had created one of India’s most important technology companies. Zuckerberg said he looked forward to working with Shah to further strengthen WhatsApp for billions of users and millions of businesses worldwide.
Meta’s India Play
The leadership change comes amid reports that Meta is preparing to invest around $900 million in CRED. The proposed deal could give the tech giant roughly a 20 per cent stake in the company and value CRED at approximately $4.5 billion.
For Meta, the move would strengthen its ambitions in India’s fast-growing digital payments market, currently dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay. By combining discovery through Facebook and Instagram, commerce on WhatsApp and payments infrastructure via CRED, Meta could create a powerful integrated digital ecosystem.
The development would also mark a milestone for India’s startup ecosystem, with an Indian founder potentially taking charge of one of the world’s largest technology products, serving more than three billion users globally
Who Is Kunal Shah?
Mumbai-born Kunal Shah studied philosophy before leaving an MBA programme midway through. He first gained prominence by founding FreeCharge in 2010, which was later acquired by Snapdeal. In 2018, he launched CRED, a fintech platform that rewards users for paying their credit card bills on time.
Today, CRED is regarded as one of India’s leading fintech companies, while Shah has also emerged as a prominent startup investor with stakes in more than 200 ventures.
It’s been a minute.
— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) June 22, 2026
2015–2018
- Exited FreeCharge. Spent time learning and investing.
- Pondered about: Why can't trust be rewarded? Started with $1M of personal capital.
- Launched CRED to reward people for paying credit card bills on time.
2019–2025
- Built a system run by a…
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