Snapchat may have turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook, but the L.A.-based firm has poached one of its rival’s executives for a newly created post of COO. Emily White, currently director of business operations at Facebook’s Instagram–a job she has held since April of this year–will be heading south to join Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, where she will be his second in command.
“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 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 Snapchat spokesperson said the company is “thrilled” with the hire of the 35-year-old, who started out in the online advertising division of Google and gained experience with deals and mobile partnerships at Facebook. “Instagram has great leadership in place and this is not me walking away from anything but an A+ management team,” said White. “But I am about to learn a lot about the way communication is happening right now and am excited to help grow it into a big business.”