(Image source from: ET Tech)

The Indian-origin Chief Business Officer of WhatsApp Neeraj Arora has announced stepping down, saying he needs "time off to recharge and spend time with family".

Arora has been with WhatsApp since 2011 - well before the mobile messaging service's $19 billion acquisition by Facebook. A graduate of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Arora played a key role in closing the acquisition of WhatsApp.

Prior to joining WhatsApp, Arora worked with Google. "It is hard to believe that it has been seven years since Jan (Koum) and Brian (Acton) got me onboard at WhatsApp, and it has been one hell of a ride," Arora said in a post on Tuesday. "I am deeply indebted to Jan and Brian, who entrusted me to be their business companion for so many years," he added.

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In a jolt to Facebook in May, WhatsApp co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Koum decided to recede amid reports that he had a difference of opinion with parent company Facebook over data privacy, encryption, and some other issues and then Arora was rumored to be the frontrunner to replace Koum as CEO. Another WhatsApp co-founder Acton made his highly-publicized exit from Facebook in 2017.

"It's time to move on, but I can not be more proud of how WhatsApp continues to touch people in so many different ways every day," Arora said. "I am confident that WhatsApp will continue to be the simple, secure and trusted communication product for years to come," he added.

-Sowmya Sangam