Snapchat added Emily White, the director of business operations at Instagram, as the company's new COO on Tuesday, according to AllThingsD.
The now-former Facebook exec had been director of mobile partnerships at Facebook beginning in 2011, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was assigned to work with Instagram and its co-founder Kevin Systrom in April, and was involved in bringing advertisements to Instagram just last month.
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"It happened really quickly, but to have an actual COO role in one of many companies that is disrupting the communications arena is one I could not pass up," White, who will work directly with Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel as the company's No. 2, told AllThingsD. “I have always been captivated by the creativity that has gone into the product… and I think that Evan has been looking for someone who can help him grow and scale what is already something that has changed a lot of the way people think about the mobile experience.”
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that White is leaving the company and joining Snapchat. Snapchat did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.
The new hire comes just a few weeks after Snapchat reportedly turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook, and seems to reinforce that the Los Angeles-based startup is committed to moving forward as an independent company.
Snapchat hasn't raised a round of funding since June, but reports surfaced in October that the startup is seeking another round that would value the company as high as $3.5 billion.
Like other social media success stories before it (Twitter, Instagram), Snapchat appears to be in no rush to monetize its photo-sharing app. Although White may be able to offer some serious insight after her recent experience with Instagram.
Spiegel claims that users send 400 million snaps per day — either photos or videos — and it's possible to imagine that brands and retailers could one day send ads to users in a similar form using Snapchat's system.
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