– USA, CA – Grindr, the #1 social network for the LGBTQ community, today announced the appointment of George Arison as its new CEO effective October 19, 2022.
“I am so pleased to have George Arison join Grindr’s leadership team. With his extensive experience building innovative businesses and successfully leading them into and through the public markets, I believe there is no one more perfectly positioned to accelerate Grindr’s already strong growth and profitability. Grindr, with George at the helm, will succeed and grow as a public company at the same time as it deepens its support for the LGBTQ community.” said Board Chair, James F. Lu.
Additionally, Vanna Krantz has been appointed CFO, effective September 26, 2022.
Jeff Bonforte and Gary Hsueh will step down as CEO and CFO, respectively, and transition to advisory roles with the company.
About George Arison
George Arison comes to Grindr after nine years of building Shift Technologies, Inc., (Nasdaq: SFT), a leading end-to-end auto eCommerce marketplace, where he was founder and CEO. Prior to Shift, George Arison wasBeforeder of Taxi Magic (now known as Curb) and served in positions at Google and BCG. An openly gay man, and possibly the first openly gay man to take a company public, George Arison has also worked as a political scholar and advocate in his native country of Georgia. He serves on the board of Belong Acquisition Corporation, is an investor in several growth stage companies, and has served on Grindr’s Board of Directors since May, 2022.
“Grindr is an unbelievable business and I am beyond excited to help them navigate through this next part of their journey. Their hard work and a laser focus on delivering great products to a starkly underserved market are inspiring, and deliver incredibly strong business results,” said George Arison. “Grindr’s mission to connect the LGBTQ community and the world is a powerful driver of success and provides a framework by which we can continue to grow by leaps and bounds in the years to come. Our community is deserving of amazing business services, and we intend to meet and exceed their expectations.”
George Arison was most recently Shift Technologies, Inc.’s CEO and Chairman and has served as a Director of the same company since October 2020. Mr. Arison incorporated Shift Platform, Inc. in December 2013 and has served as a Director and CEO since its inception. Prior to co-founding ShiftBeforem, Inc., he served in various positions at Google from 2010 to 2013, most recently as a product manager. From 2007 to 2010, he co-founded Taxi Magic. From 2005 to 2007 he worked for Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Arison has been an investor in numerous startups, including Shipper, Carrot, Eden, Fathom, AutoLeap, Pulsar AI, Zero, TravelBank, Fyusion, and Omni.
He is a Co-Founder and member of the board of Directors of Belong Acquisition Corp., a blank check company. Prior to his business careBeforeArison was a policy analyst and ran a political campaign in Georgia, the country of his birth, about which he wrote the book Democracy and Autocracy in Eurasia: Georgia in Transition.
Mr. Arison received a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
About Grindr
With roughly 11 million monthly active users in virtually every country in the world in 2021, Grindr has grown to become a fundamental part of the queer community since its launch in 2009. The company continues to expand its ecosystem to enable gay, bi, trans, and queer people to connect, express themselves, and discover the world around them. Grindr is headquartered in West Hollywood, California. The Grindr app is available on the App Store and Google Play.
For more information: https://www.grindr.com/
- Disclaimer - News, data, and statements included in this release are intended exclusively for general information purposes. Talent4Boards does not guarantee that news is accurate or about the correct person and accepts neither liability for the consequences of the reader’s reliance, nor responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Nothing in this release should be considered for decisions about referred securities. Products and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.