Greg Blatt

Gregory R. Blatt (b. 1968) is an American technological industry executive. He has spent the last decade working within the dating sector of the tech world, holding positions such as CEO and Chairman for Match Group (MTCH) and its subsidiaries Match.com and Tinder.

Early Life & Education

Blatt grew up in Weston, Massachusetts -- a suburb of Boston -- raised by his mother who worked as a therapist and father who was a management consultant and exporter. He has described his father as a mad genius with an opinion on everything (whether people want to hear it or not) and credits him for helping to develop his trust in his gut.

He initially had no ambitions towards executive life and pursued an undergraduate degree in literature from Colgate University in 1986 after completing high school. After his graduation in 1990, he took a few gap years to travel. He spent time in Budapest, Reims, and San Francisco, taking odd jobs such as painting houses and bussing tables to supplement his travels before settling for a time in Telluride, Colorado. While there, he lived out of a tent and made a living bartending.

In 1990, Blatt moved to New York City where he attended Columbia Law School, receiving his Juris doctor in 1995.

Career

Blatt began his career at the M&A law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Known as one of the most demanding law firms in the country, he spent three years at the company working around the clock as an associate lawyer, sometimes even resorting to catching up on sleep on his office floor.

In 1997, he moved from mergers and acquisitions to entertainment law, joining Grubman Indursky & Schindler PC. As an associate lawyer at the firm, Blatt worked closely with celebrity client Martha Stewart, who had recently consolidated her various television, print, and merchandising ventures into a single new company called Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Wishing to take the company public, Stewart offered Blatt the position of general counsel to assist in the transition.

Blatt worked for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) from 1999 to 2003. The company’s initial public offering was considered a success, seeing its initial public offering price nearly triple on its first day of trading at the New York Stock Exchange. During his time there, he was promoted to executive vice president of general counsel & business affairs and began overseeing all of the company's business transactions, mergers & acquisitions, licensing deals, and other foreign and domestic partnerships.

In 2003, accepted the position of executive vice president of general counsel at InterActivCorp (IAC) after being recommended for the job by a former colleague at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. At the time, IAC was a holding company with some of the biggest media and internet brands under its umbrella including Ask.com, Expedia, and the Home Shopping Network. Blatt used his five years working as general counsel for the company to help it disaggregate to a streamlined group of businesses with more commonality between them.

In 2009, he was asked to move to Dallas, Texas to head the company’s stagnating dating website Match.com. He was appointed to CEO and during his two years at the company, he reinvigorated the website and introduced a campaign featuring real-life couples without the help of an ad agency.

In December of 2010, Blatt was tapped to become CEO of IAC after the company’s current CEO and his mentor Barry Diller made the decision to step down. In his first year as chief executive, IAC saw annual revenues up 26% to $2.1 billion and profits up 75% to $174 million. He held the position for three years until January 2014 when he became Executive Chairman at Match Group, the conglomerate IAC had created for all of its dating companies. As with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Blatt assisted in the company’s IPO, which was valued at the time of going public in 2015 at $2.9 billion. Since 2014, Blatt transitioned between various executive positions at Match Group and Tinder. In December 2015, he became Chairman and CEO of Match Group. In August 2015, he became Executive Chairman at Tinder, and in December 2016 he became CEO of the company. He simultaneously held the positions of CEO at Match Group and Tinder until January 2018.

Blatt is a Chairman on the board for Meetic SA, a French online dating service.

Personal Life

During his time at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Blatt was featured on her cooking show on a few occasions. He has made classic cocktails with her such as bloody marys and margaritas.

Blatt enjoys traveling and often goes on fishing trips with his brother. He enjoys going to the beach in the summer and skiing in the winter. Blatt is a fan of the New England Patriots. He has been married and has a five-year-old daughter.