Bumble Inc., the online dating app company, has announced that its founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd will transition to the role of executive chair in January 2023, and will be replaced by Lidiane Jones, the current chief executive of Slack Technologies Inc. Bumble’s stock BMBL dropped 6% in premarket trading on Monday following the news.
Wolfe Herd, 34, said that she wants to focus on the long-term vision and innovation of Bumble, and to take the company 10 years ahead. She said that Jones, who has been leading Slack, a unit of Salesforce Inc. CRM, since 2020, is the right person to lead Bumble’s day-to-day operations and strategy.
Jones, 42, has been with Slack since 2014, and has held various roles in product development, engineering, and design. She said that she is excited to join Bumble, a company that empowers women and creates meaningful connections. She said that she will continue to build on Bumble’s growth and success, and to deliver value to its customers, employees, and shareholders.
Bumble, which operates two dating apps, Bumble and Badoo, went public in February 2023, and was valued at $8.2 billion at its initial public offering. However, the company has faced a challenging environment in the online dating industry, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, increased competition, and regulatory scrutiny. Bumble’s stock has fallen 35% in 2023, compared to a 28.8% increase in the Nasdaq COMP.
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