iWorld
Abhijit Bose appointed Whatsapp India ops head
MUMBAI: Facebook owned mobile messenger application WhatsApp has appointed Abhijit Bose as head of India operations, the company confirmed in a statement.
Bose will join WhatsApp in early 2019. He will be building WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurgaon.
Before this, he was the co-founder and CEO of electronic payments company Ezetap. Bose is also a graduate from Harvard Business School and Cornell University.
The release stated, “Bose and his team will focus on helping businesses, both large and small connect with their customers.”
Whatsapp COO Matt Idema said, “WhatsApp is deeply committed to India and we are excited to keep building products that help people connect and support India's fast-growing digital economy. As a successful entrepreneur himself, Abhijit knows what it takes to build meaningful partnerships that can serve businesses across India”.
To his appointment, Bose said, “WhatsApp is special and can be a major partner for financial inclusion and economic growth in India”.
iWorld
Bluesky’s CEO Jay Graber steps down, Toni Schneider takes the helm
Graber moves to innovation role as interim CEO Schneider steers platform of 40m users
SEATTLE: Jay Graber, the driving force behind Bluesky, is stepping down as CEO and moving into the newly created role of chief innovation officer. Graber, who has been at the forefront of building the open social platform since 2019, leaves the day-to-day running to focus on new ideas and innovation.
Stepping in as interim CEO is Toni Schneider, former boss of Automattic and partner at True Ventures, who has been an advisor to Bluesky for the past two years. Schneider brings a wealth of experience in open platforms, having worked with WordPress, Yahoo’s developer network, and supported companies like Bandcamp.
Bluesky, created by Jack Dorsey as an alternative to Twitter, has grown into a thriving social network with over 40 million users. Its open AT Protocol allows users to own their data and identity, while developers can build apps on top of the platform. Schneider described Bluesky as “a real, scalable foundation for a different kind of internet.”
Graber praised the team she assembled, saying the platform’s success stems from matching people’s passions with their strengths. “Scaling up this company has been a learning experience unlike anything else,” she wrote in a blog post, adding that she is “excited to dig into the next frontier of what decentralized social can be.”
The board has begun a search for a permanent CEO, but for now, Schneider will guide Bluesky through its next chapter of growth, supporting the team, users, and developers alike.
Bluesky’s rise gained attention during the November 2024 exodus from X, formerly Twitter, when changes to the platform prompted users to look for alternatives. With Schneider now at the helm, the platform looks set to continue its journey as a user-focused, open social network.
