Board & Executive
The ODA Board consists of five individuals from the online dating industry along with the Chief Executive.
Duncan Cunningham – Chairman
Duncan Cunningham was elected Chairman of the Online Dating Association in August 2013.
Duncan has been a director of The Dating Lab since 2007, providing various media partners such as The Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Sunday Times with online dating sites. Before that he worked for its parent company, Telecom Express in a variety of operational and commercial roles. He has been involved in the provision of dating services to the UK media for over 20 years.
Jackie Elton – Director
Jackie Elton was appointed as a Director and Deputy Chairman of the Online Dating Association in August 2013.Jackie Elton founded Widernet Communications Ltd in 1999 and launched its main brand Christian Connection in 2000. It now operates in the UK and Australia and is the leading dating site for the Christian niche in those countries. Prior to that, she had senior roles in major power and transport infrastructure development projects in the UK. She has also developed other internet enterprises and is a
Dan Winchester – Director
Dan Winchester was appointed 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 site. Dan is especially interested in both the free dating business model and in eradicating dating scammers from online dating sites. Prior to FreeDating.co.uk, Dan founded HousePrices.co.uk which he sold to Zoopla in 2010. When he is not working, Dan can often be found running or cycling in the South Oxfordshire countryside.
Morgan Cauvin – Director
Morgan Cauvin was co-opted as a Director of the Online Dating Asociation in April 2018.
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.
John Kershaw – Director
John Kershaw founded Bristlr, the dating app connecting those with beards to those who want to stroke beards, in 2014. After gaining international notoriety he grew the company and white-labelled the technology to become M14 Industries. He and his company went through the Ignite startup accelerator in 2015, has closed multiple rounds of funding, and appeared on Dragon's Den in 2017.
Lee Nutter – Director
Lee has been the Commercial Director of Muddy Matches since 2014 and leads the rural dating site’s development and marketing strategies with particular focus on customer acquisition. A sister site - Maverick Matches - aimed at single people with a passion for ‘adventurous outdoor sports’ is launching soon.
Prior to joining Muddy Matches, Lee was Group Publisher at international media company Future PLC, with responsibility for driving audience and revenue growth across online, print and video channels.
Executive
George Kidd - Chief Executive
George Kidd was the first Chief Executive of the Online Dating Association in 2013. He moved on from the ODA in September 2015 to take an executive role promoting responsibility in the gambling sector. In addition to these roles George spent eight years as Chief Executive of The Phone-paid Services Authority. He was also a board member of the Fundraising Regulator and was a Director at the Cabinet Office. He chairs the Direct Marketing Commission.
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 and the UK Lobbying Register, as well as offering flexible administrative support to small businesses.