Tinder has swiped right on Jim Lanzone, former head of CBS Interactive.
Match Group, parent company of the Tinder dating app, announced that Lanzone has been appointed Tinder’s new CEO. Lanzone takes over the role from Elie Seidman, who is stepping down as chief exec. Lanzone starts at Tinder on Aug. 3, reporting to Match Group CEO Shar Dubey.
Lanzone had spent nine years at CBS, most recently president and CEO of CBS Interactive. He exited CBS last fall to join venture-capital firm Benchmark Capital as executive-in-residence.
Dubey called out Lanzone’s digital and TV background in referencing new opportunities for Tinder to integrate video, as well as expand the rollout of new features in different regions around the world.
Lanzone takes over at Tinder shortly after Barry Diller’s IAC completed the spinoff of publicly traded Match Group (on July 1). For the first quarter of 2020, Tinder’s direct revenue grew 31% year-over-year, with average subscribers of 6.0 million in the period (up 28% year over year). Blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said Tinder saw first-time subscriber declines sequentially from February to March before “stabilizing in April.” At the same time, first-time subscribers were up year-over-year in each month.
“I’m very excited to welcome Jim to Match Group,” Dubey said in announcing his appointment. “He has vast experience running complex global tech organizations, driving product innovation, integrating emerging media trends into bellwether brands and a proven track record of building subscription offerings and delivering results.”
Lanzone called Tinder is “an iconic brand and an essential part of the dating experience.”
“We have an enormous opportunity to deliver on our mission, bring more people to the product and reimagine the user experience across different markets,” Lanzone said in a statement provided by Match Group. “I’m looking forward to working with the team and taking the brand to new heights.”
Match Group also the hiring of gaming executive Joshua Sell as Tinder’s chief product officer, effective immediately. Sell, who will report to Lanzone, previously has worked at gaming companies including NCSOFT, King, Glu Mobile and Aeria Games and Entertainment.
Lanzone joined CBS Interactive in 2011 after its acquisition of Clicker Media, an internet video search and programming guide, where he was founder and CEO. He had been chief digital officer of CBS Corp. and in 2016 was named president and CEO of CBS Interactive. Under his tenure, CBS launched streaming subscription service CBS All Access and free, ad-supported services including CBSN, CBS Sports HQ and ET Live.
Earlier in his career, Lanzone was CEO of Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves), which he joined in 2001 after its acquisition of eTour.com, where he was co-founder and president.
In addition to the flagship Tinder brand, Match Group’s dating brands include Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, Pairs, PlentyOfFish and OurTime. Match Group is scheduled to release second-quarter 2020 financial results on Tuesday, Aug. 4.