After Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, co-founders of Instagram, decided to leave the social network in 2018 due to internal disputes, all eyes turned to Adam Mosseri, who has since taken on the role of Instagram’s head.
Since his appointment, Mosseri has been responsible for keeping Instagram fresh and on-trend, though he has sometimes faced backlash from users due to the drastic changes he has implemented. But do you really know who Mosseri is, the entrepreneur who has managed to build a long and successful career within Meta? Today, we want to tell you more about him.
Adam Mosseri was born on January 23, 1983, in New York City, into a Jewish-Catholic family, thanks to his Egyptian-Israeli Jewish father and Catholic mother. He was raised in Chappaqua, New York, where he graduated from Horace Greeley High School. Mosseri attended New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in information design in 2005.
Although not much is known about his childhood, it must have been quite harmonious, as he is the younger brother of the award-winning singer, pianist, and composer Emile Mosseri, who is famous for composing the music for well-known films such as Kajillionaire and Minari, the latter of which was nominated for several Oscars.
While still in college, in 2003, a young Adam Mosseri founded his own design consultancy, “Blank Mosseri,” which focused on graphic, interaction, and exhibition design, with offices in both New York and San Francisco.
After completing his university studies in 2005, he moved to San Francisco to work in his design office. In 2006, he began teaching at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and in 2007, he joined the design team at TokBox, a service for launching an online publishing application, becoming the company’s first designer.
Before joining Facebook, Mosseri launched Boombox, a music-sharing application. Although this project was a failure and was quickly shut down, it caught Facebook’s attention, leading them to recognize his talent and work.
Adam Mosseri began his career at Facebook in 2008, where his then-girlfriend (now wife) Monica was already working. They married in 2013 and now have three children. Mosseri’s first role at the social network was as part of the design team, and he quickly began to rise through the ranks, eventually becoming one of Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted executives.
While Mosseri held various positions within Facebook, one of the most significant was from 2012 to 2016, when he oversaw the News Feed section of the social network. Under his supervision, the News Feed became one of the platform’s most important features and the foundation of Facebook’s advertising model, which has generated substantial financial gains.
Starting in 2016, Mosseri was as Facebook’s Vice President of Product, a period during which he faced several challenges. In addition to overseeing Facebook Home, the failed attempt to replace the Android home screen, Mosseri had to navigate the controversy following the fake news scandal and Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Mosseri also became the public face of Facebook’s security efforts following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which it was revealed that the data of millions of users had been harvested by the British consultancy for political advertising purposes.
Adam Mosseri began his journey with the photo-sharing platform Instagram in May 2018, after returning from paternity leave following the birth of his second child. He was appointed Vice President of Product at Instagram, replacing Kevin Weil, who had joined Facebook’s new blockchain team.
Later that same year, Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, shocked everyone by announcing their departure from their roles as CEO and CTO, respectively. Their exit was reportedly due to growing tensions between the founders and Mark Zuckerberg regarding the direction the app was taking.
On October 1, 2018, Mosseri was appointed Head of Instagram, ushering in what is considered the third phase of Instagram’s evolution. The first phase began with its founding in 2010, the second started when it was acquired by Facebook in 2012, and the third phase commenced with Mosseri at the helm. An interesting note: Facebook reserves the title of CEO for the company’s founders, which is why Mosseri is referred to as the Head of Instagram, even though he effectively performs the duties of a CEO.
Since taking the helm at Instagram, Adam Mosseri has implemented numerous changes to the platform, with varying levels of acceptance from users. In his first year, he pushed a series of initiatives aimed at improving user safety and integrity, particularly focusing on combating bullying and promoting mental health.
In 2020, Mosseri led the “Daisy Project,” an experiment to hide public ‘likes’ on posts in an effort to create a pressure-free environment where users could feel more comfortable expressing themselves. However, this initiative did not gain significant traction and was eventually rolled back.
Por otro lado, con el auge de TikTok en todo el mundo, Instagram ha dejado de ser una plataforma de fotografías para dar paso a los vídeos cortos (reels) en formato vertical causando el rechazo incluso en figuras tan importantes como las Kardashian.
Luego de un año viviendo en Londres, Mosseri regresó a California, más concretamente a San Francisco, y desde entonces se ha vuelto habituales sus apariciones públicas a través de su cuenta de Instagram, en las que explica como funciona el algoritmo de la plataforma y como los creadores de contenido pueden sacarle el mayor provecho, impactar mejor a su audiencia y crear mejor engagement. Además, también responde a los usuarios de Instagram en una sección de preguntas y respuestas.
With the global rise of TikTok, Instagram shifted its focus from being a photo-sharing platform to prioritizing short vertical videos (Reels). This change sparked backlash, even from influential figures like the Kardashians, who voiced their dissatisfaction with the platform’s new direction.
After spending a year living in London, Mosseri returned to California, specifically to San Francisco. Since then, he has become increasingly visible on his Instagram account, where he regularly explains how the platform’s algorithm works and offers tips to content creators on how to maximize their impact, better engage with their audience, and create stronger engagement. He also interacts directly with Instagram users through a Q&A section, addressing their questions and concerns.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram Una publicación compartida de Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)
Una publicación compartida de Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)
In addition, Mosseri often highlights various Instagram creators who catch his attention, either because of their content or how they utilize the platform’s features. This gives these creators greater visibility, as the Head of Instagram has 2.6 million followers on the platform.
Alongside his responsibilities at Instagram, Mosseri also led the launch and ongoing management of Threads in mid-2023, a project through which Mark Zuckerberg aims to rival Twitter. After a year, Threads has maintained 175 million monthly active users.
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