Yahoo News Ashley Madison: Sex Lies and Scandal - where is Noel Biderman now?
Netflix's latest must-see documentary, Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal has crept up to the top of the streamer's most-watched programmes, and with a subject matter this controversial, it's easy to see why.
The three-parter follows the story behind the rise (and dramatic fall) of Ashley Madison, a Canadian online dating and social networking service that specialises in encouraging affairs.
Originally launched in 2001, the company's tagline read: "Life is short. Have an affair," and admits to creating up to one million affairs every month. However, back in 2015, the site was hacked by the still-unknown Impact Group, and the personal customer data of millions of users made its way into the public domain.
With everything from names, email and home addresses, credit card information and sexual fantasies leaked for all to see, the hack caused a *major* scandal and revealed just how many people were openly looking to cheat on their spouses.
Now you may be thinking, 'who on earth would run such an unethical dating site and be OK with it?'. Well, at the time of the data breach, Noel Biderman was the CEO and the self-proclaimed 'King of Infidelity', all while boasting a happy, monogamous marriage himself (his wife Amanda even featured in some of Ashley Madison's promotional material).
But after stepping down as CEO following the scandal, where is he now? Here's everything you need to know about Noel Biderman...
Firstly, who is Noel Biderman?
Noel Biderman is a Canadian entrepreneur and business marketing specialist. Over the course of his career, he's landed CEO, COO, President and International Lead roles for numerous businesses, including the now notorious infidelity dating website.
In 2007, he was appointed as the CEO of Avid Life Media, the company that owns and operates Ashley Madison, plus the Chief Executive of the site. At the time of acquiring the CEO position at the media company, Noel defended his agency, insisting that it doesn't promote infidelity.
"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 said.
In some TV interviews, Noel claimed that Ashley Madison was actually saving marriages, by allowing those unhappy in their relationship to indulge in their fantasies while using a discrete service. Sure, Noel.
What happened following the Ashley Madison hacking scandal?
At the time of the breach, Noel was accused by hackers of not deleting user accounts even though customers had paid to have them removed. His own personal emails were also released in a second data dump by the Impact Group - some of which detailed numerous affairs he'd engaged in over the course of his own marriage to his wife, Amanda.
Eight days after the final leak on 28 August 2015 - which is when some of the CEO's emails were also shared - the Ashley Madison site announced Noel's resignation. Both from the website and as Chief Executive Officer of Avid Life Media.
According to a statement released by the company, Noel's departure was "in the best interest of the company."
Where is Noel Biderman now?
According to Noel's LinkedIn profile, he's currently juggling a few different roles and titles in the business world, all of which seem pretty high up.
As of now, he's the CEO of Toronto-based software company, Avenue Insights, and Strategic Advisor at WonderFi, a 'Modern Wealth Generation Company' that 'provides access to the latest technologies and financial tools.'
In the documentary, we see Amanda reveal in an interview that she would be "devastated" if Noel had been unfaithful to her.
However, in Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal, we see some of Noel's emails to sex workers and other women trying to arrange a night together.
Noel declined to take part in the new Netflix documentary. However, a spokesperson for the businessman confirmed to the team that Noel was "a committed husband and father", so it would appear that he and Amanda are still together.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal is available to view on Netflix
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