Who Is Kunal Shah? CRED Founder Who Is Set To Become WhatsApp's New Boss

Powered by:

Last Updated:June 22, 2026, 20:23 IST

Meta has confirmed that Shah will succeed Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp since 2019.

Fintech firm CRED’s founder Kunal Shah is set to take over as the new global head of WhatsApp, marking a major leadership shift at Meta’s messaging platform.

The announcement comes alongside a massive funding and strategic expansion deal involving CRED, which is reportedly raising around $900 million in a round led by Meta. As part of the transition, Shah will move into Meta’s global leadership team while continuing to hold his personal stake in CRED.

Meta has confirmed that Shah will succeed Will Cathcart, who has led WhatsApp since 2019. Shah’s move is being seen as a significant endorsement of India’s startup ecosystem, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling him as a “builder" with a strong global perspective.

Shah will step away from his operational role at CRED, while the company has appointed Miten Sampat, head of strategy and finance, as interim CEO.

Who Is Kunal Shah?

Kunal Shah is an Indian entrepreneur and angel investor best known for founding CRED, a members-only platform that rewards users for paying credit card bills on time. He previously founded FreeCharge, a digital payments platform that was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015 and later came under Axis Bank’s control.

Born and raised in Mumbai, Shah began working at the age of 15 during a family financial crisis. He studied philosophy at Wilson College, Mumbai, and later enrolled in an MBA programme at NMIMS but dropped out.

Before building CRED, he worked on early ventures including PaisaBack, a cashback and discount platform that evolved into FreeCharge in 2010. After FreeCharge’s acquisition, Shah exited the company in 2016.

In 2018, he founded CRED with an initial personal investment of around $1 million. The platform has since expanded into lending, payments, insurance, wealth management and commerce, and claims over 17 million users. The company says it processes a significant share of India’s credit card payments and has crossed profitability after years of expansion.

Shah has also served as a part-time partner at Y Combinator and advised major venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, strengthening his influence in the global startup ecosystem.

About the Author

News Desk

The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ...Read More

News tech Who Is Kunal Shah? CRED Founder Who Is Set To Become WhatsApp's New Boss

Read More