Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg is stepping down

Match Group, home to Tinder, Match, OkCupid, PoF and a host of other online dating apps, announced today that CEO Mandy Ginsberg would be stepping down from her position after 14 years with the company. She's served in the CEO role since her appointment in 2017. Related to this, Ginsberg will also resign from Match's board of directors. Assuming her position is Shar Dubey, currently the president of the Match Group, who will begin her new role March 1.

Dubey has also been with Match Group for 14 years, the past two as Match Group president. She's been a board member since late 2019. Prior to her most recent position, Dubey served as chief operating officer of the Tinder business, where she led the team that launched Tinder Gold, the company's most successful monetization feature to date. She also previously served as president of Match Group Americas and chief product officer of the Match brand.

The exec shakeup doesn't end with the CEO changes. Match today named Gary Swidler as chief operating officer, in addition to his role as CFO. In the new role, Swidler will also oversee corporate communications, market research, corporate strategy, data security, advertising and user safety across the portfolio of brands, the company says.

Meanwhile, Match also named Faye Iosotaluno as its chief strategy officer and Justine Sacco as chief communications officer. Both will report to Swidler.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported the news, citing an internal memo offering more details about Ginsberg's departure. According to the memo, a tornado hit Ginsberg's home in October and last week she underwent surgery.

Axios has a copy of the memo, where Ginsberg further explains she had opted for a double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene in the past. She now has to have surgery again, as the FDA had recalled the implants. The memo says she plans to take time off this year to focus on health:

So why am I leaving now? These last 4 months have been personally trying. In October, Dallas experienced a tornado that barreled through the city destroying many homes in its wake. Thankfully no one was killed, but the tornado hit my home, making it unlivable. This has definitely impacted my family. And I have had some recent health hiccups. I have been pretty public about the fact that after my mom and aunt died of ovarian cancer 15 years ago, I tested positive for the BRCA1 gene and at the time, opted for a preventative double mastectomy due to high risk of breast cancer. And 10 years later, just last Friday, I had to have another surgery due to an FDA recall of the implants, because they have been linked to cancer. It's been a lot to handle. And while I expect to have a clean bill of health, short term I need to take care of myself and so will take some time off this year to do just that.

In the memo, Ginsberg also praises Dubey as having an "incredible command of the consumer internet space" and "the vision and experience to take this business forward."

She is so well suited for this role and we won't miss a beat during this transition. Not only is she a brilliant, analytical and action-oriented executive, but she is a great leader because she wants every single person on the team to win. And so many people who have worked for Shar have told me she is the best boss they have ever had. Now you all have the best boss.

In a statement about Ginsberg's departure, Match Group Chairman Joey Levin said, "Mandy has had a profound impact on Match Group's culture, the team, and through the success of our products, the world. She recruited Shar to the company more than a decade ago, and it's been incredible to witness what these two executives have built together. Mandy will always be a part of the Match Group family, wherever she is. But, if she will no longer be here, we cannot imagine a better successor than Shar. The Match Group leadership team has a deep bench of talent, and Shar, Gary and the team will continue to lead Match Group forward."

Dubey takes the helm at Match Group ahead of a significant change to its business. In October, digital media holding company IAC took the next step toward spinning off Match Group as an independent company.

Match Group reported better-than-expected revenues and profit for the third quarter of 2019, thanks largely to the revenue growth for its top dating app, Tinder, which also became the top-grossing non-game app of 2019. Revenues of $541 million were up by 22% year over year, due to improvements of 19% and 4% in average subscriber base and Average Revenue per User (ARPU), respectively.