Match restructures executive leadership, hires former Snap product VP as new CTO • TechCrunch

Match Group, the parent company of several popular dating apps including Tinder and Hinge, has announced a revamped management team. Most notably, the company is hiring former vice president of product at Snap Will Wu as its new chief technology officer in a newly created role. Wu will oversee product innovation in Match’s application portfolio, the company says.

While at Snap, Wu led the team responsible for building and marketing Snap’s developer platforms. Wu spearheaded the creation of many of Snap’s popular features, including the “Discover” content platform, the “Chat” messaging feature, and Snap’s social gaming initiative. Match says Wu will now work directly with its executives to launch new features, emerging technologies and innovative products.

“Will is truly a product expert,” Match Group CEO Bernard Kim said in a statement. “For nine years, he has forged new technologies at scale that have redefined user experiences and expectations of social products, especially among Gen Z. I have known him for a long time and have seen the massive impact that he’s had on how people connect with Snap, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the dating experience. This leadership team has a strong breadth of knowledge, a proven track record, and we We are all ready to collaborate and take advantage of the opportunities ahead.”

The company also announced that Gary Swindler, who previously served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Match, will become president and chief financial officer of Group. Additionally, Malgosia Green, who was previously CEO of Plenty of Fish, will become CEO of Match Group Asia.

Another leadership change will see Hesam Hosseini, CEO of Match and Affinity brands, take on a newly created role as CEO of Evergreen & Emerging Brands’ Match Group. In this role, Hosseini will oversee Match, Meetic, Plenty of Fish and OkCupid, in addition to emerging brands such as The League, BLK and Chispa. Finally, Justin McLeod, the founder and CEO of Hinge, will now report directly to Kim.

Match says the new changes are designed to maximize profitability, improve growth, streamline operations and prioritize new business opportunities. The move comes as Match seeks to grow its business beyond traditional swipe-based matchmaking and into the so-called “metaverse”. Match has previously talked about his plans for a dating metaverse, complete with a virtual goods-based economy, real-time audio, and the ability for online daters to meet in virtual space to have conversations.