Facebook names new Instagram chief after founders exit

Longtime Facebook executive Adam Mosseri will replace Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger as Instagram’s top official, the photo-sharing app’s outgoing founders announced Monday

“We are thrilled to hand over the reins to a product leader with a strong design background and a focus on craft and simplicity — as well as a deep understanding of the importance of community,” Systrom and Krieger said in a blog post.

Mosseri has held various roles at Facebook since joining the social media giant in 2008, including time spent working on the platform’s News Feed. More recently, he served under Systrom and Kriger as Instagram’s vice president of product.

Facebook shares were down more than 1 percent on Monday. Last week, the company announced a serious data breach impacting 50 million users.

Systrom and Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for $1 billion in 2012 and remained at the app’s helm after the transaction. The founders revealed earlier this month that they would exit the company to pursue new opportunities.

Facebook representatives have not commented on reports that the Instagram founders left the company amid tension with Zuckerberg over the app’s direction.

“We remain excited for the future of Instagram in the coming years as we transition from being leaders at Instagram to being just two users in a billion,” the blog post added. “We’re confident that under Adam’s leadership, Instagram will evolve and improve and we look forward to the future of the product and community.”

Instagram boasts 1 billion monthly users, while Facebook has north of 2 billion, according to June statistics.