eHarmony has announced that it has appointed long-time vice president and member of the original team, Grant Langston to the role of chief executive officer. Founder and CEO, Dr. Neil Clark Warren, will retire as CEO and remain chairman of the business.

“Grant Langston is a natural choice to succeed Dr. Warren as CEO as he has been at his side since the inception of the company. His level of experience in the field of online dating is unparallelled and we are pleased to elevate him to this position,” said Jamie McJunkin, founder and general partner at Madrone Capital Partners and eHarmony board director.

“Dr. Warren founded eHarmony, pioneering the process of compatibility-based matching which has kept eHarmony as the leader in this space throughout its 16 years,” said Langston.

“Dr. Warren’s 40 years of counselling and experience as a psychologist and counsellor informed a process that even today remains unique to online dating.

“That process has brought together literally millions of couples in pursuit of meaningful relationships and we will continue to build on the foundation and accelerate the growth of the company as we move to a mobile-first platform.”

“Grant has been a guiding influence for the company and understands this space better than anyone else in the industry,” said Dr. Warren.

“Additionally, he has an intuitive understanding of the business itself as well as the position of the unique eHarmony brand and I am confident that under his leadership, eHarmony will continue to grow market share and hold its position as an industry leader.”

The company said the changes will be effective immediately.

This news comes off the back of the recent appointment of Nicole McInnes to the role of marketing director for the company.

McInnes, formerly of Pandora Radio, brings over 20 years’ marketing experience to her new role, as well as a passion for creating high impact, integrated campaigns.