Fortune

in love with the Israeli tour guide, stayed, and
ended up marrying him, starting her career at
software companies in Tel Aviv. (Her parents’
reaction to the seemingly impulsive move?
“They were not very happy,” she says.) The
couple returned to the U.S. when her husband
was admitted to Berkeley’s clinical psychology
Ph.D. program, and while he pursued
his studies, Ginsberg worked for Edelman in
public relations. When she got into the prestigious
Wharton School, she and her husband,
now with a 1-year-old daughter, relocated to
Philadelphia.
But one week into her first semester, her
husband told her that he felt the relationship
wasn’t working—and that he was moving back
to Israel. “I found myself with this fat little
1-year-old, and I was at the hardest business
school in the country,” Ginsberg recalls. “And I
just had this sort of ‘Oh, shit’ moment where I
was like, ‘What am I going to do?’ Then I was
like, ‘Wait. I have to figure this out.’ ”
Through day care, babysitters, and persuading
her study groups to use her house as
their gathering spot, she figured it out. (She
and her ex-husband have remained on good
terms.) But after she graduated came an even
bigger setback: Her mother was diagnosed
with ovarian cancer. Ginsberg moved back
to Dallas to care for her, adjusting her career
plans and taking a job at a small software
company. Her mother died a few years later—
and soon after, Ginsberg tested positive for
the BRCA gene, making her much more likely
to sufer the same fate.
Over the following several years, she had
a mastectomy, an oophorectomy (removal of
the ovaries), and a hysterectomy, all while she
was climbing the ranks at Match.com. (A major
bright spot: She met her second husband
at her previous job at the software company
and was able to have her second daughter before
undergoing the surgeries.) As diicult as
they were, Ginsberg says she took a lot from
the experiences. “Your perspective changes
when you have all of these life challenges,” she
says. “You realize that you can do a lot.”
In 2006, she joined Chemistry.com, a new
brand started by Match, as general manager.
Ginsberg had little experience
running a business, but
the company was looking for
someone who understood PR,
marketing, and, in particular,
psychology around women. For
Ginsberg’s part, she wanted
to get into consumer technology,
and she happened to have
something of a gift for matchmaking,
having introduced four
couples who’d gotten married.
She took the brand from zero to
$25 million before being named
general manager of Match.com
two years later and CEO of
the Match business in 2012.
In 2013, she headed East to
become CEO of IAC’s nascent
Tutor.com business, which subsequently
acquired the Princeton
Review test-prep company.
Then, in 2015, she was brought
back as CEO of Match Group
North America. It took just 2½
more years for her to claim the
top job, replacing Blatt, who
stepped down as CEO at the
end of last year.
Those around Ginsberg
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THE DATING GAME
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FORTUNE.COM // JULY.1.18