Welcome back, Broadsheet readers! Congress begins a new term, we remember Barbara Walters, and two CEOs hope their friendship can inspire others at the top. Have a wonderful Wednesday and a great start to your 2023.
- To the top. There's an adage that most executives who make it to the C-suite acknowledge is true: It's lonely at the top. Becoming a CEO often means standing alone, no longer able to complain, debate, or dream big alongside anyone at work in a true "no-agenda conversation."
Shar Dubey and Mandy Ginsberg, two former CEOs of Match Group, are rare corporate leaders to make it to the top without sacrificing that kind of friendship at work. The pair met more than 20 years ago at a dotcom-era tech company in Texas before jumping to the online dating giant Match.com in its early days. They climbed the corporate ladder in tandem, charting career trajectories that culminated in serving back-to-back CEO tenures at Match Group between 2018 and 2022.
In a new feature for Fortune, I dive into their relationship—and what makes it so unique. Not only are the pair trusted colleagues, they're best friends who spend their off-time vacationing together in Europe. Ginsberg became the CEO of Match first, but she stepped down after suffering several personal blows: Her home in Dallas was destroyed by a tornado, and, shortly afterward, her doctor told her she needed surgery to remove the breast implants she’d received during a preventative double mastectomy, which had been recalled for risk of cancer. In early 2020, Dubey, who had been Ginsberg's No. 2, stepped up to take over the CEO job when her best friend—and her board—needed her.
The pair have a remarkable bond—one that becomes all the more notable when you consider its context. In 2018, LeanIn.org found that 40% of senior-level women reported being the only female executive on their leadership team. Women who were an “only” were 50% more likely to consider quitting their jobs. Furthermore, corporate America often rewards traits like ruthlessness that can be at odds with workplace friendship.
At Match, Dubey and Ginsberg proved to be the exception. That's why the pair teamed up again in October when they began new roles as operating partners at the private equity firm Advent International. They hope to help growth-stage companies and their founders achieve the kind of growth they oversaw at Match (its stock was up 143% during their combined CEO tenures) and nurture meaningful relationships—like theirs—that can aid their development, personally and professionally.
“People complain that it’s lonely at the top," Dubey told me. "But I never felt it."
Read the full feature here.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
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