Spark Networks SE appointed Chelsea A. Grayson as new CEO

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers


On March 29, 2023, the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") appointed Chelsea A. Grayson, who has been serving as interim Chief Executive Officer, to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Spark Networks, Inc., effective as of March 29, 2023. She will remain a member of the Board.


Ms. Grayson (51) has served as interim Chief Executive Officer since December 1, 2022, and as a member of the Board since July 2020. She is an Executive-in-Residence at Wunderkind (formerly BounceX), a leading marketing technologies provider, a member of the Board of Directors of Xponential Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: XPOF) (where she is a member of the Audit Committee), a member of the Board of Directors of Goodness Growth Holdings (formerly Vireo Health (CSE: GDNS) (where she Chairs the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee and sits on the Audit Committee), a member of the Board of Directors of Loudpack, a member of the Board of Directors, Independent Lead Director and member of the Audit Committee of iHerb, and Chair of the Board of Directors of Lapmaster Group Holdings. She is also a member of the UCLA Board of Visitors for the English Department and a Board Leadership Fellow and Corporate Governance Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Previously, she was the Chief Executive Officer and a board member of True Religion, Inc. (where she chaired the audit committee) and the Chief Executive Officer and a board member of American Apparel Inc. Before joining American Apparel, Ms. Grayson was a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice group of law firm Jones Day. Ms. Grayson received a J.D. from Loyola Law School and a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles. 


On December 21, 2022, Spark Networks, Inc. entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Grayson (the "Employment Agreement"). Ms. Grayson's compensation information was previously disclosed under Item 5.02 of the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 23, 2022 and is incorporated herein by reference. There are no family relationships between Ms. Grayson and any director or executive officer of the Company, and the Company has not entered into any transactions with Ms. Grayson that are reportable pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. There are no arrangements or understandings between Ms. Grayson and any other persons pursuant to which she was selected as Chief Executive Officer.