Following nearly a decade in leadership, the founder and CEO of one of the most popular dating applications is resigning.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, the company's founder since 2014, will assume the position of executive director at Bumble Inc. The position will be assumed by Lidiane Jones, the head of Slack, in January.
Ms. Wolfe Herd stated that she was transferring the baton to a woman she profoundly respects and a leader.
Ms. Wolfe Herd, age 34, achieved the status of the earliest self-made female billionaire globally on February 24, 2021, when she listed Bumble to the public.
She established the organisation in 2014 and distinguished the application from its competitors by granting women authority over interactions.
Frustration with antiquated gender conventions that govern dating, according to Ms. Wolfe Herd, prompted her to establish a platform where women "make the first move."
With the exception of the majority of dating applications, in which only female users can initiate contact with matched male users, either gender may initiate contact with same-sex matches.
Bumble Inc.'s shares peaked at $75 shortly after its IPO according to sources. However, they have since declined, and after Ms. Wolfe Herd's resignation was announced, they reached an all-time low of $12.77.
The share price of Match Group, a competitor of Bumble and owner of Tinder and Hinge, has also declined during this time period. Nevertheless, Ms. Wolfe Herd expressed extremely positive outlook regarding the future.
She further expressed her heightened conviction in the substantial potential of Bumble Inc.
Ms. Jones will assume the role of CEO of Bumble Inc., the parent organisation of the friendship and business networking applications Bumble and its other ventures.
Since January 2023, she has served as the chief executive officer of Slack, a prominent instant messaging platform in the workplace.
She had previously held positions at Salesforce, the parent company of Slack, and Microsoft.
Ms. Jones said in a statement that as a woman who has devoted her career to technology, it is an honour to utilise her experience to lead a company committed to promoting equality, integrity, and compassion among women; these values are profoundly personal and inspire her.
Ms. Jones stated to sources that she intends to incorporate additional AI capabilities into Bumble Inc.'s products. "AI can have a tremendous impact on assisting individuals in discovering the ideal companion, peers, and community more quickly," she stated.
She was a member of the founding team at Tinder prior to joining Bumble. However, she departed the platform due to conflicts with other executives, including one of whom she had been dating. She subsequently filed a claim for sexual harassment.
The parent company of Tinder, Match Group Inc., refuted the allegations but reached a settlement worth approximately $1 million (£810,000).
Bumble is renowned for supporting women's safety initiatives, including proposals to criminalise cyber-flashing in the United Kingdom and the European Union.
As of October, cyber-flashing was made illegal in the United Kingdom by the Online Safety Act.
Bodyshaming is prohibited on Bumble, which, like other dating applications, employs artificial intelligence to identify explicit images exchanged in private conversations and provides the recipient with the option to either view or block the content.
