PEAK6 partner Danny Rosenthal became Spark Networks’ CEO – the fourth in five years – last August, after PEAK6 spent $7.8m on 5m shares of Spark Networks at $1.55.
This meant that the Chicago firm owned 16% of the company’s outstanding shares, and led to huge changes in Spark’s leadership team.
Michael Egan (CEO of Spark Networks from 2014 until last year) was replaced by Danny Rosenthal, PEAK6 Chief Architect David Budworth became CTO and PEAK6’s Lisa McLafferty took the role of CRO.
On his appointment as CEO, Rosenthal announced that he wanted to focus attentions on improving JDate and Christian Mingle.
He said at the time: “One quarter into my tenure at Spark, I wanted to share initial observations and our approach. We have a better understanding of structural problems the business has faced.
“These have been driven by problems with technology and product that have prevented investment in modernizing our brands.
“Some of these challenges have been overcome in the short term through marketing spend, but that is not a sustainable approach that will enable the company to thrive and grow.
“Our strategy to improve operations and maximise long term potential is founded in fixing these core issues and doing fewer things in a better way.
“More specifically, we have made the decision to focus on holistically improving our core JDate and Christian Mingle offerings.”
Now, rumours are suggesting that Spark Networks might be looking for its next CEO, however the company has not confirmed the hearsay.
Find out more about Spark Networks here.