Dive Brief:

• Dating app service Match Group announced its SVP of financial planning and business operations Steven Bailey will step into the role of CFO effective March 1, according to a securities filing.
• Bailey is an eight-year veteran of the Dallas, Texas-based dating app service, which is the parent company of popular online dating platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and Plenty of Fish. He will succeed Match CFO Gary Swidler, who will transition out of his role to serve as president also as of March 1, the company said in a Monday press release.
• The CFO swap is the latest in a series of executive changes made by the company as it deals with a decline of paying users for its dating app, Tinder. Payers for the Tinder app slumped by 8% year-over-year in Q2 and were down 78,000 sequentially to 9.6 million, according to the company’s earnings report.

Dive Insight:

Bailey has served in his current role as SVP, financial planning and business operations since February 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. His previous roles at Match included serving in that role in a regional capacity for Match Group Americas, and as regional CFO for the Americas, according to his LinkedIn profile.

As CFO, Bailey will receive an annual base salary of $475,000 and will also be eligible for discretionary annual cash bonuses at 100% of his base, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In association with his appointment as finance chief, Bailey will also receive a grant of restricted stock units with a target value of $1.8 million and a grant of performance-based restricted stock with a target value of $1.8 million, the company said.

Bailey’s appointment comes approximately a month after Match appointed former Twitter General Counsel Sean Edgett as its chief legal officer and secretary, with the move effective Sept. 23, according to a company press release. The Tinder operator also appointed two new directors to its board in March, after a “constructive dialogue” with investor Elliot Investment Management, according to a company press release at the time.

Match has continued to see paying subscribers for popular platforms slump, a struggle which has prompted pushback from investors. Starboard Value — which has a 6.6% stake in the business — has advocated that Match explore a potential sale if it can’t rightsize the business, joining Elliot and fellow investor Anson Funds in calling for changes at the business, according to reports by Reuters.

Match is one among several dating services that has seen usage slow following the pandemic. For its second quarter ended June 30, though the company saw total revenue increase by 4% year-over-year to reach $864 million, it also reported a 5% drop in total payers, according to its earnings results. Both subscription and total revenue for Tinder, one of its most popular dating platforms, saw increases year-over-year, but payers for the service continued to decline — the 8% drop followed a 9% slump in the prior quarter, Match said.

The company has also seen a decrease in its operating income and a narrowing of margins; for Q2, Match reported operating income of $205 million, a 5% decrease from the prior year quarter which represented a 24% operating margin.

Alongside changes to its executive team, Match has made several moves to cut its costs and improve profits, including shutting down live streaming services that had previously been available on apps including Plenty of Fish. As a result of the shutdown, the company expected a 6% reduction of its global workforce, which would result in cost savings of approximately $13 million.

Match declined to comment beyond their press release.