00:00 Whitney Wolfhard, co-founder of Bumble,
00:02 was once known as the Queen Bee of dating apps.
00:06 Women can make the first move.
00:07 Women are equal, and that's why we set out
00:10 to do that in dating and in friendship,
00:12 and here we are at business and networking.
00:14 But now, just six years later,
00:16 Wolfhard will be stepping down
00:18 as the dating app company's CEO
00:20 and sliding into a new role
00:22 while Bumble's growing pains as a public company continue.
00:26 Formerly the youngest self-made female billionaire ever,
00:30 the firm announced on November 6th
00:32 that Wolfhard will exit her current post as chief executive
00:35 and become Bumble's executive chairwoman on January 2nd.
00:39 The move follows an extended slide for Bumble Stock
00:43 since the company's initial public offering
00:45 in February 2021.
00:47 At that time, the dating app held
00:49 a nearly $9 billion valuation,
00:51 but at Friday's market close,
00:53 Bumble's $13.67 share price was 83% below
00:58 its all-time high of $78.89,
01:01 achieved in its first week of trading.
01:04 The 34-year-old Wolfhard saw her own fortune tumble
01:08 as Bumble shares cratered, losing her billionaire status.
01:12 Bumble Stock slid 9% to about $12.40
01:17 in early Monday trading
01:18 following the news of the CEO transition,
01:21 trading well below its all-time low closing price
01:24 of $12.90 set last week.
01:26 Previously a co-founder of Tinder,
01:30 Wolfhard founded the female-oriented Bumble in 2014,
01:34 shortly after suing Tinder for sexual harassment.
01:37 But as Bumble's market capitalization
01:40 slipped to below $2 billion,
01:42 Wolfhard's fortune took a similar tumble,
01:45 tanking from a peak of about $1.5 billion in early 2021
01:50 to $510 million as of this May.
01:53 Bumble, which was part of 2021's record-setting year of IPOs,
01:58 has experienced similar stock declines
02:00 to other companies that went public during the boom period.
02:04 Stepping in as CEO will be Lydianne Jones,
02:07 who currently serves in the same capacity
02:09 at workplace messaging service Slack.
02:12 (gentle music)
02:14 (gentle music)
02:17 (gentle music)
02:19 (gentle music)
02:22 (upbeat music)
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