Ashley Madison Names New Chief Executive, New Investigation
Avid Life Media Inc., the privately held parent company of Ashley Madison, the dating site for adulterous adults, has named new chief executives in the wake of its damaging widespread data hack last year.
Rob Segal and James Millership, who have served as the company's chief executive and president, respectively, for the past three months, will take on the rolls on a permanent. The company disclosed their positions for the first time on Tuesday as it "breaks the silence" in announcing "transformative changes" for the site.
Last August, hackers leaked almost 10 gigabytes of user data stolen from the Toronto-based company, including personal and credit card information of Ashley Madison customers. The former chief executive Noel Biderman stepped down following the data breach.
"The company is truly sorry for how people's lives and relationships may have been affected by the criminal theft of personal information," Mr. Segal said in a statement.
He also indicated that the company is investing more heavily in security following the incident.
Avid Media also addressed the company's previously alleged use of "fembots" -- fake female users created to draw men into the site, which was reported by technology site Gizmodo in August of last year. According to Gizmodo's research, millions of female users on the site were inactive or potentially fake.
Ashley Madison confirmed bots had been used in the Tuesday statement.
"My understanding is that bots are widespread in the industry, but they are no longer being used, and will not be used, at Avid Life Media and Ashley Madison," said Presidetn James Millership. He claimed the practice in North America in 2014 and internationally in 2015.
Segal was chosen for his "marketing and communications leadership, according to the company, while Millership was chosen for his operational and respositioning experience.
Segal called the job of rebranding an "exciting challenge" but and that the company is investing heavily in technology, acquisitions, partnerships and new ventures.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the company is currently being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and that the incident cost Avid Life Media more than 25% of its revenue.
Former chief executive Biderman had claimed that the company was valued at $1 billion, but Segal told Reuters that valuation may have been over-stated especially in light of the company's data breach. He said the company was not sure how the data was breached or who was behind it.
A spokesperson for Ashley Madison could not be reached at this time.