Noel Biderman (born 24 November 1971) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former lawyer, sports agent and internet entrepreneur. He gained prominence as the CEO of Avid Life Media and its subsidiary, Ashley Madison''. '' Currently, Biderman sits on the Board of Directors of WonderFi Technologies Inc., a public company on the

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Early life and education

He is a native of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He was born

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and had a

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

ceremony. His grandparents were

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors. Growing up in Toronto, he attended the York Mills Collegiate Institute in 1986, the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

(economics) in 1989, and in 1996 graduated from York University's

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

Early career

Biderman began his career in 1997 at Interperformances Inc., where he eventually became the director of Canadian operations. In 2000, he transitioned to Homestores Inc. (now Move.Inc.), where he rose to the position of General Manager of Canadian Operations.

JumpTv

In December 2005, Biderman began a position at

JumpTV JumpTV Inc. was a Canadian company, and one of the country's largest internet television carriers until its acquisition by NeuLion in 2008. History JumpTV was formed as an internet television company in 2000. It was limited in the services it cou ...

and was named Head of Product Development and Marketing.

Avid Life Media and Ashley Madison

Biderman became CEO of Avid Life Media and Ashley Madison in 2007. Responding to critics, Biderman says that Ashley Madison does not promote

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...

, "We're just a platform. No website or 30-second ad is going to convince anyone to cheat. People cheat because their lives aren't working for them." He has said that he writes the commercials for his company (which have featured two attractive people in the throes of passion, and then the sign: "This couple is married...but not to each other"), which the ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...

'' called "hilarious." Biderman marketed Ashley Madison as having a focus on married women, instead of married men. "I was very confident that men would gravitate towards a service to conduct these otherwise anonymous affairs. They were seemingly doing it already," Biderman told ''

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

''. "I was much less confident that women would behave that way." In the summer of 2015, the Ashley Madison website was hacked and sensitive information of millions users was released publicly. Biderman was accused by the hackers of failing to delete accounts from the website even after customers paid to have accounts removed. Biderman's emails were also released. In the wake of the hack, on August 28, 2015, the Ashley Madison website announced that Noel Biderman had resigned as chief executive officer of Avid Life Media Inc. At the end of

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

’s 2023 documentary ''The Ashley Madison Affair,'' Biderman’s lawyer wrote, “Mr. Biderman is—and was—a committed husband and father.” “Biderman was also the victim of a crime, like the customers of Ashley Madison whose public information was hacked and publicized,” the statement continued. “While he understands the differences between himself and those customers, he — like many of them — have, in the intervening years, attempted to move on and repair the damage to his life and relationships.

Coaching Career

A former basketball, volleyball, and football player, Biderman began coaching youth sports in 2012 with the Metro Toronto Wildcats TAP program, leading two age groups to two provincial championships. In 2013, he coached the North Toronto Huskies basketball team alongside the Commissioner of the CFL, earning a provincial bronze medal and a silver medal.

Post Ashley Madison

Since leaving the dating site, Biderman has transitioned to leading Avenue Insights, a Toronto-based software company that assists small to mid-size organizations in improving data collection. He has also advised companies, including those in legal tech and online dating. Biderman's story is recounted in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

’s ''Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scanda''l, which explores the rise, fall, and revival of the controversial dating service. Currently, Biderman sits on the Board of Directors of WonderFi Technologies Inc., a public company on the

and public company (Flowr).

Media appearances

Biderman has appeared on ''

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

'', ''

The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...

'', ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'', GluckRadio, and

Rogers TV Rogers TV (stylized as Rogers tv) is a group of English-language community channels owned by Rogers Communications. Many of these channels share common programs. Rogers TV broadcasts in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and ...

's Daytime York Region. Biderman also served as a judge for the Miss Tiger Woods mistress pageant on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'', which was sponsored by Ashley Madison. In an interview with comedian

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. Schumer ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition ...

, Biderman stated that wives gaining weight "is a legitimate reason" for husbands to seek sex outside their marriages. He told

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's '' A Current Affair'' program that if he found out that his own wife was accessing his cheater's site, "I would be devastated."

Speech and publication

He authored ''Cheaters Prosper: How Infidelity Will Save the Modern Marriage'', ''SmartCountry'' (fiction), and ''Adultropology'' (non-fiction). He has spoken at TEDx and participated in a debate on family values at Fellowship Church.

Personal life

Noel Biderman is Jewish, as stated in multiple interviews. He is the author of a book titled ''Cheaters Prosper: How Infidelity Will Save the Modern Marriage''. Biderman has played basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, and hockey throughout the majority of his life. He also collects ancient coins and first-edition novels. Biderman married Amanda Biderman in 2003, and the couple have two children. Amanda is originally from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and has a background in marketing. Prior to the hack, Biderman mentioned he is a happily married father of two and does not himself cheat. It has been alleged, through e-mails leaked during the hack, that Biderman carried on several extramarital affairs over the course of his marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biderman, Noel Living people 1971 births Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian Jews