5 minBusiness
More companies are picking their next CEO from the boardroom
A growing number of companies are appointing board members as CEOs, a trend highlighted by Spencer Rascoff's move from Match Group's board to its top job. Research shows board-to-CEO transitions hit a five-year high among S&P 500 companies last year.
When Spencer Rascoff joined the board of Match Group in March 2024, he saw it as a chance to contribute his experience in scaling digital platforms to a global business operating in 190 countries. Less than a year later, the board named him CEO, replacing Bernard Kim, who stepped down amid disappointing financial results and pressure from activist investors. Rascoff's appointment reflects a broader shift in corporate leadership: companies are increasingly looking to their own directors when they need a new chief executive.
Research from Spencer Stuart, the executive search firm, found that 19 of the 168 new S&P 500 CEOs named last year came from boards of directors, the highest number since 2020. Other recent examples include SAIC's James Reagan and Constellation Brands's Nicholas Fink. The report suggests companies often turn to board members when they lack a succession plan, but some experts argue directors can be the ideal choice to lead a company.
“As insiders, they have a valuable feel for the company's culture, history, and strategy; as outsiders, they can more easily challenge the company's existing ways of operating,” write Reshmi Paul, Heidi Smith, Samantha Hellauer, and Shoma Hayden in Harvard Business Review. This dual perspective, they argue, gives board-member CEOs a unique advantage in navigating both continuity and change.
In Rascoff's case, he believes the board's confidence in him is essential as he works to turn around Match Group, particularly its Tinder app, which has seen declines in user numbers. “Having the board's confidence and support through tough times and periods of business change is really important,” he says. To revive Tinder, Rascoff has increased marketing spend and accelerated product innovation while easing efforts to monetize the app through à la carte features. In March, the company announced Tinder Events, an in-app feature that lets users browse and sign up for in-person meetups.
“I'm not sure past CEOs would have been given the latitude by the board to move into an adjacency that might initially look off-strategy for a dating app,” Rascoff says. He compares the expansion into events to Zillow's move into rental listings or Airbnb's push into experiences. “In each of those cases, the boards gave those CEOs—typically founder-CEOs—the necessary leash and latitude to make those decisions. Here, I think the leash and latitude I've been given has been enabled by the trust the board built in me during my time as a director.”
Under Rascoff, Match Group has also acquired HER, a dating app for queer women, and made a $100 million investment in Sniffies, a map-based cruising platform for queer men. These moves are showing early signs of success. During a pilot in Los Angeles, 71% of users aged 18 to 24 engaged with the Events tab on Tinder. While second-quarter revenue was down 1% year over year, in line with expectations, net income climbed 36% to $171 million. Match Group shares are up about 15% since Rascoff became CEO, and the stock has outperformed the broader market this year.
Match Group has also reshaped its board and worked to improve governance. Last year, activist investor Anson Funds called the group “insular” and sought to install its own slate of directors. In April 2025, Match Group and Anson Funds reached an information-sharing agreement, and the latter withdrew its director nominations. Meanwhile, Match Group has added directors with expertise in streaming, e-commerce, marketplaces, and trust and safety.
Rascoff has also put his directors to work. He asked Laura Jones, a board member who is chief marketing officer at Instacart, to mentor marketing leaders at Hinge, Tinder, and other brands. He also holds one-on-one meetings with directors between board meetings. “Board management is something a good CEO does year-round, forming relationships with directors so they're never surprised by anything in a board meeting, and so directors are adding value year-round, not just at four or five board meetings a year,” he says. Given current trends, there could be another benefit to regular meetings with directors: CEOs might find a suitable successor.
