Sam Yagan

Sam Yagan General Information

Description

Sam Yagan, 43, is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Yagan co-founded Corazon Capital in 2013. From 2016 to 2021, Mr. Yagan served as the Chief Executive Officer of ShopRunner, Inc., a multi-product e-commerce platform enabling millions of members to transact billions of dollars worth of gross merchandise value. In 2020, Mr. Yagan led the sale of ShopRunner to FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX). Prior to ShopRunner, Mr. Yagan served as the Vice-Chairman of Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH), a position he assumed in 2016 after leading the company as Chief Executive Officer through a period of explosive growth that culminated in its IPO in 2015. Mr. Yagan's prior entrepreneurial ventures in the consumer internet sector include SparkNotes, still the dominant brand of study guides, and MetaMachine, Inc., once the largest peer-to-peer file-sharing network in the world. Mr. Yagan sold SparkNotes to iTurf, Inc. and then to Barnes & Noble, Inc., where he served as Publisher and oversaw the expansion of the digitally-native brand into a multi-platform media business. Mr. Yagan also co-founded OkCupid in 2003, which he led as its CEO through its sale to Match Group in 2011. In 2009, Mr. Yagan co-founded Excelerate Labs (now Techstars Chicago), a leading start-up accelerator, and served as its first Managing Director. Mr. Yagan sits on the board of several private companies, including The Duchossois Group, SpotHero, Brilliant Worldwide, and Grindr. He serves as Advisor at Monica + Andy. He previously served on the Digital Advisory Council at Target Corp (NYSE: TGT), the Stanford Graduate School of Business Management Board, and as an advisor to Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG). Mr. Yagan also sits on the boards of four non-profits: Start Early, Leaders in Tech, Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy Fund Board, and Rush University Medical Center. Mr. Yagan has earned recognition on TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World, Fortune Magazine's 40 Under 40, Crain's Chicago Tech 50 and 40 Under 40, Billboard Magazine's 30 Under 30, and ranked #19 on Silicon Alley Insider's Most Inspiring and Influential People. Mr. Yagan holds a B.A. with honors in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, earning distinctions as a Siebel Scholar, an Arjay Miller Scholar, and the Henry Ford Scholar, the latter of which Stanford awards annually to each class's valedictorian. He also served as Advisor at Hyde Park Venture Partners.