Jim Safka, Former CEO of Match.com

Jim Safka was the Chief Executive Officer of Match.com since he took office on September 9, 2004 to 2006. Before joining Match.com, Safka served as the vice president and general manager of e-commerce for AT&T Wireless. He joined AT&T Wireless in 2002, after working with E*TRADE Financial Corporation for 5 years. Safka worked his way up to vice president of marketing at E*TRADE before leaving to join AT&T Wireless.

Safka’s technology marketing career began in the mid-1990’s when he joined Intuit, working as product manager for Quicken Financial Planner and Quicken.com under Intuit co-founder Scott Cook. Before than he served various brand product management positions for companies including Alberto-Culver, Inc., Warner Bros, Inc., and Paramount Pictures.

Safka received a Masters in Business Administration from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwester University. He undergraduate work was conducted at the University of Southern California, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

In January 2008,, Safka was named CEO of Ask.com.

Quotes from Safka

About Joining Match.com
"Match.com is an outstanding company with exciting prospects for the future. I'm looking forward to joining the team and leading the company to the next level of growth in online dating, one of the most powerful categories in e-commerce today."

About the Launch of Chemistry.com
"No one understands the diverse needs of single people better than Match.com… Our research identified a growing segment of single adults who are actively looking for someone to build a life with. They want a partner like Chemistry.com that can introduce them to more of the right people and get them face-to-face faster."

"Just like Match.com did a decade ago, we believe that Chemistry.com is going to revolutionize the way that people connect and build relationships."

About Match.com's “How To Find The Right Person In 90 Days” Guide
"From the beginning, Match.com has led a cultural shift, expanding the possibilities for single people…Everything about the way people connect, communicate and find love has changed, but the basic human desire for love is the same as it's always been. With our new program, we hope to hear about even more Match.com success stories this year."

About Searching Profiles on Match.com
"In many ways, we’re in the search business. And in the search business, you have to have the most powerful search tools. And so, we’ve got the most members and the most popular searching capabilities to be able to find people that have characteristics of folks that you’d be looking for." (Nightly Business Report article "Business of Love"-Cyber Dating, February 14, 2005)

About Member Background Checks
"That's a solution looking for a problem." (USA Today)

"We thought it's just wrong. It actually does more harm than it does good…[Background checks] potentially give customers a false sense of security." (Texas Lawyer)

About Emerging Online Dating Technologies
"[Video chatting] is not plug-and-play for the consumer today, but three to five years from now it will be an important part of our business." (USA Today)

“For ten years, Match.com has worked to harness the power of technology to help connect people. The growth of our wireless presence offers our members the ability to connect with each other – anytime, anywhere…It is incredibly simple for our members to sign up, and they have the ability to transfer their existing Match.com profile to the mobile service.”

About Match.com Expanding Internationally
"We feel like we’re in the first or second inning of a nine-inning game…We’re right at the beginning of it [international market, especially the Asia-Pacific region], and the opportunity is a global one." (D Magazine)

Related Links:
» Match.com Gets a New CEO
» History of Match.com

Send Us An Update:
Email an update for Jim Safka's bio