Tinder's 28-year-old CEO and creator, Sean Rad, is being demoted. Rad created the popular dating app while he was working for Hatch Labs an incubator for IAC.
The writing was on the wall for Rad when a scathing sexual harassment suit was filed earlier this year and settled in September. The suit, brought on by former Tinder executive Whitney Wolfe, stated that CMO Justin Mateen had sexually harassed her on multiple occasions.
Wolfe claimed in the suit that Mateen demoted her by removing her title of co-founder because she was a woman. She also said that she suffered from verbal abuse occurring over text messages that were allegedly sexist in nature, adding that Rad and Sam Yagan (CEO of The Match Group, a division of IAC) turned a blind eye to the abuse.
With the suit settled (and out of the public eye), the nail in the coffin was Rad allegedly calling Diller, the head of IAC, a 'd---k'--sending a photo to match the insult, according to the NY Post.
Rad got the call that he was being demoted in the midst of an announcement that he was monetizing Tinder. Last month, right before the call, he revealed the next revenue phase for the company at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia. "I went through every stage of mourning at once," he told Forbes. "Fear, a bruised ego. I started thinking about the company and my whole future."
Rad will act as President and remain on Tinder's board. In the meantime, he'll remain on as CEO until IAC can find an alternative. According to Rad, "We're looking for an Eric Schmidt-like person."
Tinder boasts 18 million active users and is valued between $1 billion to $5.5 billion. IAC owns a controlling stake in the company with 60 percent, while Rad's share is 10 percent.