Who we are
The ODA Board consists of individuals from member companies.
Morgan Cauvin - Chairman
Morgan Cauvin was appointed as Chairman of the Online Dating Association in February 2021.
As Corporate Affairs Director, Morgan heads up corporate communication and government relations of Match Group in Europe and Asia.
Prior to Match Group, Morgan, who started his career as solicitor at the Paris Bar, held various positions in sensitive and exposed industry such as alcohol amongst others.
Duncan Cunningham – Director
Duncan has been the Managing Director of The Dating Lab since 2007, who specialise in providing white label dating solutions to media partners. Before that he worked for its parent company, Spoke Interactive Ltd in a variety of operational and commercial roles. He has been involved in the provision of dating services to the UK media since the early 1990’s.
Dan Winchester – Director
Dan Winchester was appointed a Director of the Online Dating Association in August 2013.
Dan is the founder of FreeDating.co.uk, a free UK dating site established in 2005. He is involved in all aspects of the day-to-day running of an online dating service.
Gitte Bendzulla - Director
Gitte Bendzulla joined Spark Networks as General Counsel of Spark Networks in November 2018. She has served as Managing Director since June 2019 and is responsible for the Legal Department, the HR and Talent Engagement Team, Customer Care and drives the Company’s process around OKR’s. With her promotion to Chief Operating Officer in 2020, her portfolio has expanded further and now includes additional responsibility for Procurement, Office IT and Cyber Security. Before joining Spark Networks, Gitte held several senior legal positions on a European and global scale with Juniper Networks, APM Terminals, Eaton Industries and the SITA Suez group.
Gitte started her career at the German-based law firm Graf von Westphalen in 2004. She is admitted to the German bar and holds a master’s degree from the University of Bayreuth (Germany), as well as a bachelor’s degree obtained in Berlin (Germany).
Norman Petty – Director
Norman Petty is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of The Meet Group (TMG), where he leads the Legal and Trust & Safety teams. Half of TMG's staff work in its Trust & Safety team where they leverage AI and other leading edge technology to monitor TMG's apps and live streaming video platform on a 24/7 basis. Prior to joining TMG, Norman was SVP, Legal at Dow Jones & Company where he was the lead commercial lawyer for The Wall Street Journal and Barron's. Norman started his career in private practice at Morgan Lewis and Reed Smith in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A.) and Duke Law School (J.D.).
Michael O'Sullivan - Director
Michael is the owner of HubPeople Limited and has been with the company since 2009. HubPeople runs a SaaS platform, HubStars Dating for entrepreneurs and businesses looking to launch and promote their own dating site or app and is available in multiple languages and countries. The business has grown significantly since inception, welcoming over 20M new users worldwide in 2020.
A frequent public speaker, Michael is passionate about delivering the best experience possible to the customer. He has been listed in the annual GDI Powerbook of influential dating executives 4 times. He has worked at various software startups and holds degrees in Engineering and Mathematics from Trinity College, Dublin.
Executive
Dr Hannah Shimko - Communications & Policy Director
Hannah Shimko was appointed Communications and Policy Director of the Online Dating Association in October 2021.
Hannah has spent her career working in communications, engagement and advocacy for heritage and cultural organisations. Most recently she was Head of Policy and Communications for the Heritage Alliance, and completed her PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2020.
Ann Austin - Secretary
Ann Austin was appointed Secretary of the Online Dating Association in August 2013.
Ann has over 20 years’ experience working in regulatory and not-for-profit organisations and spent a number of years with the premium rate self-regulatory body PhonepayPlus as Finance Officer and Company Secretary. Currently, she provides secretarial services to the regulatory committee at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, as well as offering flexible administrative support to small businesses.
