New dual leadership structure at ParshipMeet Group

Hamburg, 19 July 2021. ParshipMeet Group is reorganizing its management board, appointing Marc Schachtel (37) and Geoff Cook (43) as co-CEOs. The new dual-led team is completed by Henning Rönneberg (52) as Chief Financial Officer. Tim Schiffers (52), the incumbent CEO, is handing over the baton to Marc Schachtel and Geoff Cook after seven years. After successfully completing the merger of Parship Group with The Meet Group, he has now decided to move on to new challenges outside the organization.

The two co-CEOs will now be jointly responsible for the management and strategic direction of ParshipMeet Group as one of the leading global dating groups. Operationally, Marc Schachtel will lead the entire matchmaking business as CEO of Parship Group, managing the Parship, ElitePartner, eharmony and LOVOO brands. Marc Schachtel, previously Chief Operating Officer, joined the company in 2011 and the board in 2014 alongside his co-managing directors Tim Schiffers (CEO) and Henning Rönneberg (CFO). In 2020, Geoff Cook (CEO The Meet Group and General Manager Video ParshipMeet Group) joined the board, too. Over the past ten years, Marc Schachtel has been responsible for the entire product as well as the underlying technology, consistently driving the continuous optimization of user experience and successfully steering the overarching business.

Operationally, as CEO of The Meet Group, Geoff Cook will continue to be responsible for the Social Dating & Entertainment division, managing all brands including MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, GROWLr and the live video streaming solution vPaaS, which powers the video solution of some of the largest dating and social apps in the world. Geoff Cook is co-founder of The Meet Group, which was acquired by Parship Group last year, and developed The Meet Group into a leading provider of innovative and interactive live video apps.

Rainer Beaujean, Chairman of the Executive Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE and Chairman of the Advisory Board of ParshipMeet Group: “Over the last seven years, Tim Schiffers, together with Marc Schachtel and Henning Rönneberg, has developed Parship Group into a leading player in the global online dating market. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Tim for this success and I wish him all the best for his professional and private future. At the same time, I look forward to continuing the very good cooperation with Marc, Geoff and Henning in the future and to further expanding the successful business of ParshipMeet Group in the years to come.”

Jörn Nikolay, Managing Director and Head of General Atlantic’s German business: “I am convinced that with this new management team we have positioned ParshipMeet Group excellently for a possible IPO next year. We would like to thank Tim Schiffers very much for his outstanding performance and wish him all the best.”

Tim Schiffers: “I am proud to have contributed to the success story of ParshipMeet Group for many years with an outstanding team by my side. It has been an exciting and fantastic journey. With the integration of The Meet Group in Europe and the US, the next milestone has now been successfully reached. Now is a good time to play a shaping role in a new environment. With its well-coordinated management team, ParshipMeet Group is in good hands for future growth.”

Tim Schiffers joined ParshipMeet Group as CEO in 2014 and has additionally been responsible for all brand, media and marketing activities. The dating company, which at that time was still focused on the German market, grew from EUR 60 million in revenues in 2014 to an innovative global group with more than EUR 500 million in revenues in 2020 (FY pro-forma). The milestones for this development were, on the one hand, strong organic growth and, on the other hand, the successful acquisitions of ElitePartner (2015), eharmony (2018) and The Meet Group (2020).

About ParshipMeet Group:
ParshipMeet Group is an international market leader in online dating. With its uniquely diverse business approach, the company covers the whole spectrum of the online dating market, ranging from social dating with a strong entertainment component based on live video streaming, to serious matchmaking. ParshipMeet Group’s brand portfolio consists of internationally successful and established brands with complementary strengths. Social dating and entertainment apps MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, and GROWLr focus on social connections, entertainment, and community. Matchmaking services such as eharmony or European-based Parship use scientific methods to help people find their partner for a compatible, happy long-term relationship. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the company currently employs a workforce of more than 1,100 in eight offices worldwide. www.parshipmeet.com 

Press contact:

Christian Steinhof
Vice President PR & Corporate Communications
e-mail: christian.steinhof@parshipmeet.com
phone: +49.40.460026242