Key Takeaways

  • Duolingo announced in a press release and securities filing on Monday that Gillian Munson, the current head of its audit committee, will officially become Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on February 23, succeeding Matt Skaruppa, who has held the role for six years.
  • Co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn praised Skaruppa as an "outstanding financial leader" and noted that he built "a world-class team that shaped our trajectory as a public company." During Skaruppa's tenure, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based mobile language learning platform completed its initial public offering (IPO) in 2021, which was valued at $6.5 billion, according to Reuters at the time.
  • Skaruppa said in the press release and in a personal LinkedIn post that his time at Duolingo was "the most rewarding chapter of my career." He specifically highlighted his work in scaling the company as a public entity and "building a finance organization that matched the creativity and excellence of the rest of the company." He wrote, "I am proud of what we accomplished together: sustainable growth, strong profitability, and a culture that never lost its fun."

Deep Dive

According to Duolingo's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Skaruppa will remain as an advisor until November 20 to assist with a smooth transition. The filing shows that during the advisory period, he will receive a base salary of $32,292 per month (prorated for actual months of service), while his unvested restricted stock units (RSUs) will continue to vest according to their original vesting terms.

Upon assuming the CFO role, Munson will receive an annual salary of $800,000 and will be eligible to participate in the company's annual incentive compensation plan under terms consistent with other "same-level executives." The filing also shows she will receive an RSU grant, the number of which "is calculated by dividing $14 million by the average closing price of the company's Class A common stock over the 30 trading days preceding the grant date."

According to Monday's press release, Munson has served on Duolingo's board of directors since 2019 and has been chair of its Audit, Risk, and Compliance Committee. Previously, she served as CFO of the video platform Vimeo for three years starting in April 2022, and also held CFO roles at Iora Health and XO Group. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was a venture partner at Union Square Ventures and held positions at Symbol Technologies and Morgan Stanley.

In discussing her decision to accept the CFO position, Munson said, "When Luis, Matt, and the board members approached me about this potential transition, it quickly became one of the easiest decisions of my career. Having worked closely with the team since before the IPO as a board member, I have deep respect for Duolingo's culture, operational discipline, and organic growth engine."

Munson takes over finance at a time when the mobile learning platform is seeking to sustain its growth momentum. Its earnings report shows that daily active users (DAU) surpassed 50 million in the third quarter, up 36% year-over-year. On Monday, the company also released a preliminary update on fourth-quarter operating metrics for the period ending December 31, indicating DAU grew approximately 30% year-over-year in that quarter.

Meanwhile, total bookings (including Duolingo Plus subscriptions, English test registrations, and in-app purchases) "met or slightly exceeded" the previously announced range of $329.5 million to $335.5 million, according to the preliminary update. Based on the third-quarter shareholder letter, the company expects full-year total bookings to be between $1.15 billion and $1.16 billion.

The company plans to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on February 27. As of press time, Duolingo did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the appointment.