The founder and CEO of Ashley Madison has stepped down amid a hacking scandal plaguing the adultery website, the site’s parent company announced Friday.
Noel Biderman has resigned, effective immediately, after reaching a mutual agreement with Avid Life Media, which runs the embattled infidelity site.
“This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees,” the company said in a brief statement. “We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base.”
The personal information of more than 30 million Ashley Madison users was exposed last week by online hackers.
“We are actively adjusting to the attack on our business and members’ privacy by criminals,” Avid Life Media said.
Avid Life Media’s senior management team is running operations until a new CEO is appointed, the company said.
Officials say they’re also working with international law enforcement to bring the hackers to justice.
The announcement comes after hundreds of leaked emails purportedly show Biderman may have had multiple affairs despite claiming he has stayed faithful to his wife.
Biderman, who calls himself the “King of Infidelity,” appears to have strayed from his happy marriage several times — at least once with an escort and another woman who he carried on with for several years, BuzzFeed News reported.
The multimillionaire Ontario father of two children told the Daily News last year he never cheated on his wife because of how badly it would hurt her if he did.
“If I wanted to have an affair, I would have one,” he said at the time.
