Kevin Weil, a longtime Twitter executive, will soon join the photo-sharing service Instagram, according to two people familiar with the matter, joining the ranks of a company many consider one of Twitter’s main competitors.
Mr. Weil, a well-liked veteran in Silicon Valley, will become head of product for Instagram, these people said. He will report directly to Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s co-founder and chief executive.
Instagram declined to comment. Mr. Weil did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Weil joined Twitter in 2009 and worked his way up to become senior vice president for product, reporting to the company’s highest levels. Instagram, once an acquisition target for Twitter before Facebook bought the service in 2012, has grown to eclipse Twitter in size, claiming 400 million monthly active users.
Mr. Weil’s recent departure from Twitter came after some news outlets reported that he, as well as other managers at the company, had been asked to leave. The people familiar with the matter said that Mr. Weil chose to join Instagram well before announcing his departure from Twitter on Sunday evening.
A Twitter spokesman declined to comment.
An earlier version of this article misstated the number of Instagram users. It is 400 million monthly active users, not 400 million daily active users.