- After about four years in the position
- Praise and thanks for Wolfe Herd
- Lidiane Jones taking over
- Wolfe Herd will remain as Executive Chair at Bumble
- Wolfe Herd made a lengthy statement and said 236 words
(exechange) — Austin, Texas, November 6, 2023 — Whitney Wolfe Herd, chief executive of Bumble, leaves her position. As announced by Bumble Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Monday, November 6, 2023, Whitney Wolfe Herd leaves her post as chief executive officer at the dating app operator, after about four years in the role, effective January 2, 2024.
Generally speaking, it raises questions when a CEO leaves her post at short notice.
Whitney Wolfe Herd’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Lidiane Jones, currently Chief Executive Officer at Slack Technologies.
The fact that Whitney Wolfe Herd’s successor is brought in from outside suggests that the board may seek to stimulate change with fresh ideas and new initiatives.
In general, an outsider does not have the constraints of an insider when it comes to leading painful changes or making unpopular decisions.
“Accelerate the Company’s vision to embrace AI innovation”
Bumble did not give an explicit reason for Whitney Wolfe Herd’s departure from the CEO post. Bumble stated, regarding Lidiane Jones: “Her background, passion and values make Jones perfectly suited to lead Bumble Inc. forward and accelerate the Company’s vision to embrace AI innovation across its portfolio of applications in pursuit of facilitating human connection safely.”
Wolfe Herd will remain as Executive Chair at Bumble
Bumble stated: “Following a comprehensive search process, Lidiane Jones, who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer at Slack, a Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) company, will succeed Whitney Wolfe Herd as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2, 2024. Wolfe Herd will transition to the Executive Chair role at that time.”
“No longer serve”
Bumble said: “Whitney Wolfe Herd, the Company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, will become the Executive Chair of the Board and no longer serve in the capacity of Chief Executive Officer.”
Share price decline since November 2022
The announcement follows a decline in Bumble Inc.’s share price of 46% since November 2022.
In the position of CEO since 2020
Whitney Wolfe Herd became CEO of the Company in 2020.
Whitney Wolfe Herd is the founder of Bumble app and has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors since January 2020.
Prior to founding Bumble app in 2014, Wolfe Herd was a co-founder of Tinder, a dating application, where she served as Vice President of Marketing from May 2012 to April 2014.
Currently, Wolfe Herd serves on the board of directors of Imagine Entertainment as well as the Executive Board at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, where she graduated with a B.A. in International Studies.
236 words by Whitney Wolfe Herd
In the release announcing her departure as CEO of Bumble Inc., Whitney Wolfe Herd received praise and thanks.
In announcing her departure, Whitney Wolfe Herd made a lengthy statement and said 236 words.
“Back to my founder roots”
Whitney Wolfe Herd stated: “It’s a monumental moment, one that has taken a great deal of time, consideration and care, for me to pass the baton to a leader and a woman I deeply respect. This move to Executive Chair gives me the ability to step forward into a new and exciting role, get back to my founder roots and bring immense passion and focus to this next chapter of growth. As I reflect on the past decade, I am moved by what our team has achieved and by the passionate community we have created. I am also incredibly optimistic about the future. I believe in Bumble Inc.’s significant potential today more than ever before. I’ve thought hard about what type of leader could ultimately step into the CEO role as a successor and help continue taking Bumble to even greater heights, and I am so pleased to have found Lidiane. Lidiane’s expertise and track record in product and technology is exceptional and having her leading the next chapter of Bumble Inc. is a major win for our company, customers and team. Our shared passion, complementary skill sets and long-term vision for what Bumble Inc. can achieve makes this an exciting time for us both. I am confident that we are going to be fantastic partners in Bumble Inc.’s most exciting chapter to date, as we propel the Company’s brand, mission and products, and scale Bumble Inc. to new heights.”
Push-out Score for Whitney Wolfe Herd’s move determined
The Push-out Score indicates on a scale of 0 to 10 how likely it is that Whitney Wolfe Herd was pushed out or felt pressure to leave her position.
exechange reached out to Bumble and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 46.2023 ($).