Grindr Names New CEO Ahead of Going Public

The popular gay hookup and dating app Grindr Tuesday announced on a new CEO ahead of the company going public.

George Arison has been named as the company's new CEO. The out business executive starts October 19, according to a company news release. Arison founded and served as the CEO of Shift Technologies before now moving to Grindr. He's been on the company's board of directors since May, when the company made the announcement it was going public.

Last year, Grindr reported about 11 million active users.

Also, Vanna Krantz, who previously served as the chief financial officer of Disney Streaming Services, will step into the role of Grindr's CFO on September 26.

"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," Arison said.

He added, "Grindr's mission to connect the LGBTQ community with one another 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."

The company's board chair, James Lu, said, "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."

As NBC News notes, Arison takes over as the monkeypox, also known as MPV, outbreak continues. The outbreak has mostly affected men who have sex with men.

Over the years, the app has also received criticism over racism from its users and its toll on mental health. In 2018, a report by BuzzFeed News found that the company had been selling data related to users' HIV status and location to two companies.

Due to controversies, the company redid its Help Center and also partnered with another company to assist in cracking down on abusive or exploitative messaging and images, NBC News reports.