WhatsApp Co-Founder Brian Acton Appointed Interim CEO of Signal as Founder Steps Down

Brian Acton, co-founder of Whatsapp, the popular instant messaging (IM) platform has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive Officer of Signal Messenger LLC, another encrypted IM service whose founder, Moxie Marlinspike steps down from.

Marlinspike in a statement said that Acton will serve as Signal’s interim chief as the company is still hunting for a permanent replacement.

According to the CEO, his goal has always been for the 7-year-old company to grow and sustain beyond his involvement as chief. Disclosing why he had not been able to step down before now, Marlinspoke noted that as of four years ago, he was still the one writing all of the Android and server code for the service and was the only person on call. He was also doing all of the product development and even had to keep his laptop handy at all times in the event of a service disruption.

From the company’s inception in 2014, it has recorded over 105 million downloads globally. Signal’s service which for users can optionally function as an SMS app, can be used to make one-to-one and group audio and video calls. Its users are also able to send one-to-one and group messages, which can include files, voice notes, images and videos.

The platform boasts of approximately 40 million monthly active users. Signal states that it has been installed in over 50 million Android devices.

Speaking on the growth of the service, Marlinspike revealed that Signal currently has 30 employees comprised of engineers, designers, support staff and a leadership team. The platform’s boss also mentioned that now, he rarely writes code now and no one person is ever perpetually on call.

Marlinspike expressed that he now feels comfortable replacing himself as CEO even though his company has been searching for a new head for months. In a tweet, he said, “It’s a new year! I’ve decided it’s a good time to replace myself as the CEO of Signal”.

Through the announcement of his resignation, Marlinspike said he hopes it will help find the best person to fill the CEO spot permanently. He will still remain on the Signal board and will transition out of the CEO role to help with the search for a permanent replacement.

The interim CEO, Brian Acton’s job takes effect this week. The new head of the service who volunteered for the role had worked with Apple, Yahoo and Adobe Systems before co-founding Whatsapp with Jan Koum in 2009 and Signal Foundation with Marlinspike in 2018.