• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, October 1, 2018

As was widely expected, Facebook has named Adam Mosseri to oversee Instagram when its cofounders surrender their leadership roles in the near future.

Currently vice president, product at Instagram, Mosseri is well regarded throughout the company.

In an official announcement on Monday, Instagram cofounders Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom lauded Mosseri for his “strong design background and a focus on craft and simplicity … as well as a deep understanding of the importance of community.”

As head of Instagram, Mosseri will be expected to oversee all functions of the business and recruit a new executive team, including a head of engineering, head of product and head of operations.

Since joining Facebook’s design team in 2008, Mosseri has increasingly focused on product management. Among other efforts, he is credited with assisting in Facebook’s mobile transformation and the evolution of its News Feed. 

The news comes a week after Krieger and Systrom abruptly announced their plans to leave the company they created. They sold to Facebook for $1 billion in 2012.

Still critical to Instagram’s day-to-day operations, Krieger and Systrom have served as CEO and Chief Technical Officer since 2012.

Analysts and industry watchers have said the sudden loss of Krieger and Systrom is likely bad news for Instagram and Facebook. 

“It’s negative that they won’t be there, as it seems like many of the successes of Instagram in recent years are due to their presence,” Brian Wieser, senior research analyst at Pivotal Research Group, said last week.

Qualifying his reaction, Wieser added: “The company was generally integrated into Facebook in most ways … So it’s not likely there will be any near-term downside to this.”