- Bert Althaus Brings Over 15 Years of Financial and Industry Experience
- Company Reiterates Target of over $50MM Adjusted EBITDA in 2020
- Schedules First Half 2019 Financial Results Call for August 29, 2019
July 29, 2019 -- /PR NEWSWIRE/ -- Spark Networks SE (NYSE American: LOV) ("Spark"), a leading global dating company, today announced that Bert Althaus is joining the company as Chief Financial Officer, effective September 16th, 2019.
Bert currently serves as Senior Vice President Finance for Berlin-based home24 SE, the leading home and living e-commerce platform in continental Europe and Brazil. A data-driven technology company, home24 is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (H24.DE). Prior to joining home24, he spent over eight years at Ernst & Young. Bert holds a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Thuringia, Germany, and brings great international experience having also worked and lived in the USA, Argentina and Russia.
"Bert brings extensive financial and operational experience that will be a tremendous asset to our leadership team as we continue to grow and disrupt the $5 billion online dating market," said Jeronimo Folgueira, CEO of Spark. "It is also very beneficial for us to have our CFO based once again at our headquarters in Berlin. I am extremely confident that Bert's proven track record will enable us to maximize scale and continue to drive cost efficiencies throughout the business. The Board of Directors and I are delighted to welcome him to the company and look forward to his contribution as we progress towards our target of over $50 million Adjusted EBITDA in 2020."
"I am excited to join Spark Networks at such an exciting and pivotal time and be part of such an experienced and highly motivated management team," said Bert Althaus. "With the acquisition of Zoosk, Spark Networks is now the second largest dating company in North America in revenue. The company's extensive portfolio of iconic brands and its new tech platform holds great potential to significantly scale. I'm thrilled to join Spark as the company continues product and operational excellence, cost efficiency, and market disruption."
Bert will replace Rob O'Hare, who has resigned to pursue a senior financial executive role at another company based in San Francisco. Rob will continue to serve as Chief Financial Officer until Bert's start date and will assist with transitional matters thereafter. "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Rob for his extraordinary contributions to Spark Networks over the last four and a half years, and especially for his support since the merger between Spark Networks Inc. and former Affinitas GmbH, as well as for all the work he did to make the acquisition of Zoosk possible. Rob has been a great partner in this amazing journey that saw the company increase in size nearly three-fold and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors," added Jeronimo. The integration of Zoosk will continue to be led by Herbert Sablotny, while the New York office will be headed by Cristina Ceballos, Spark's Controller.
Today, the company also announced it will release first half 2019 financial results on Thursday, August 29, 2019 after the close of the financial markets. The Company will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss these financial results with the investment community.
Call Title: Spark Networks SE First Half 2019 Earnings Conference Call
Toll-Free (United States): 1-877-705-6003
Toll-Free (Germany): 0-800-182-0040
International: 1-201-493-6725
In addition, the Company will host a webcast of the call which will be accessible in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.spark.net.
A replay will begin approximately three hours after completion of the call and run until September 12, 2019.
Replay
Toll-Free (United States): 1-844-512-2921
International: 1-412-317-6671
Passcode: 13693171
ABOUT SPARK NETWORKS SE
Spark Networks SE is America's second largest dating company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange American under the ticker symbol "LOV", with headquarters in Berlin, Germany, and offices in New York, Utah and San Francisco. The company's widening portfolio of premium and freemium dating apps include Zoosk, EliteSingles, Jdate, Christian Mingle, eDarling, JSwipe and SilverSingles, among others. Spark Networks SE in its current form is the result of the merger between Affinitas GmbH and Spark Networks Inc in 2017 and the addition of Zoosk Inc in 2019. Spark has over one million monthly paying subscribers globally.
Comments