Whitney Wolfe Herd

Whitney Wolfe Herd graduated from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 2011 with a degree in international studies. While in college, she launched two ventures: the 'Help Us Project,' an NGO selling bamboo tote bags to aid Gulf of Mexico oil spill recovery, and 'Tender Heart,' a clothing line raising awareness for human trafficking and fair trade. Post-graduation, she joined Cardify in Los Angeles, a swipe-based loyalty card app; when its team pivoted to dating, she co-founded Tinder in 2012 as Vice President of Marketing. In 2014, Wolfe Herd left Tinder after filing a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and discrimination by co-founder Justin Mateen. Partnering with Andrey Andreev, she launched Bumble in December 2014 from Austin, Texas, emphasizing women initiating conversations in heterosexual matches. Bumble expanded globally to 150+ countries and diversified with Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz. The 2021 IPO valued Bumble at billions, making Wolfe Herd the youngest woman to lead a U.S. public company and briefly the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. She transitioned from CEO to Executive Chair in November 2023, succeeded by Lidiane Jones in January 2024.