US dating app-owner Bumble has promoted Elizabeth Monteleone to chief legal officer, taking over from Laura Franco, who left earlier this year.

Monteleone has been with Bumble since 2018, originally joining from Winstead, where she was an associate. She has been serving as acting CLO since Franco’s departure. In her previous role as assistant general counsel, she has helped shape the company’s legal and compliance function and spearheaded its public policy initiatives in areas such as reducing digital harassment. As CLO, she will work with the board and executive leadership team on all legal and compliance matters globally.

Austin, Texas-based Bumble owns the eponymously-titled dating app Bumble, as well as other dating, relationship and friendship apps including Bumble For Friends, Badoo, Fruitz and Official.

Lidiane Jones, CEO of Bumble, said: “Liz brings a huge wealth of knowledge and expertise from her time at Bumble. Watching her career grow from her time as legal counsel in 2018 and progressing into this role is a testament to Liz’s character and a reflection of the hard work that she has put in to build the legal function into what it is today. I am so proud of Liz and the example she has set for women in leadership, not just within Bumble but everywhere.”

Monteleone spent a year as legal counsel after joining Bumble before being promoted to director for legal affairs and then assistant GC in 2021. Prior to her arrival she spent just over two years at Winstead and just under two years at Proskauer Rose before that.

She said: “I have loved being part of this team and seeing what Bumble has become today. From helping lead the company through some of its most pivotal moments, including the 2021 IPO, to campaigning for reproductive rights and pushing for legislation to reduce digital harassment, I am immensely proud of the incredibly impactful work we have achieved so far. I know there is a lot more to come as we enter this new chapter at Bumble, and I Iook forward to continuing to drive impact.”

Franco, meantime, departed Bumble in February to join Las Vegas Sphere-owner Sphere Entertainment and Madison Square Garden Entertainment as GC. She left after just over three years at Bumble, having previously been at CBS Corporation for more than 25 years, latterly as GC where she helped steer through the company’s merger with Viacom. She started her legal career as a corporate lawyer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Also in February, rival dating app-owner Match Group lost its chief business affairs and legal officer Jared Sine to web-hosting business GoDaddy, which he joined as chief legal and strategy officer.