Preferred Match Brings High-End Matchmaking to Toronto’s Elite Singles

The Short Version: Based in Toronto, Preferred Match offers luxury matchmaking to clients all over North America. Christina Jay built it as a blend of coaching and matchmaking, so wealthy, accomplished single executives, CEOs, and senior professionals could get outstanding introductions. True to its reputation as a matchmaker for the elite, Preferred Match limits its client network to the most elite singles, and only those ready to commit.

A Harvard Business School study that logged how 27 CEOs spent their days makes you wonder how chief executives find time for anything at all. Its subjects were taking part in Harvard Business School's New CEO Workshop. Each ran a large company, and all of them agreed on one point: managing their time was hard.

First published in 2018, the research draws its data and insights from more than 60,000 hours of the surveyed CEOs' daily lives. On weekdays, their average workday ran 9.7 hours, and they logged another 3.9 hours, on average, over the weekend. All told, the CEOs worked 62.5 hours a week on average, out of just 168 hours in the whole week.

Executives, CEOs included, are so busy that they hand off a lot of their personal errands. Successful businesspeople and professionals often let someone else handle the laundry, the groceries, or the childcare, along with plenty of other parts of everyday life. With a schedule as packed as a CEO's, dating in any meaningful way can be tough to fit in.

This is the gap matchmakers fill. CEOs, entrepreneurs, and other high-net-worth professionals with crowded calendars need a matchmaker who gets their hectic lifestyle and knows what they want in a partner. Of all the professionals an executive might hire to keep a demanding life running, the matchmaker ranks near the top. They're the one tasked with finding the love of that person's life, after all.

For accomplished singles ready to give matchmaking a try, Preferred Match offers a bespoke international service. We spoke with Christina Jay, its founder and matchmaker, about how she runs her practice, who the typical Preferred Match client is, and why matchmaking makes a great alternative for singles worn out by online dating.

“Each year since I’ve started, Preferred Match has grown exponentially,” Christina said. “I’m boutique, which means I don’t work with just anybody. I think that’s what differentiates me from the rest because a lot of companies will take on any client who’s willing to pay them. But I’m particular because my clientele are particular.”

Christina Guides High Achievers Toward Real Connections

Christina worked as a life coach for North America's most eligible singles before she started matching them. “Prior to matchmaking, I was coaching executives, CEOs, and whatnot. I found that their biggest issue was not so much business, but personal. Personal relationships were what they really needed in their lives. They didn’t have anyone to rely on– they were lonely.”

Every client gets a matchmaking approach Christina tailors to them.

Studies show that loneliness harms your overall health and can even prove deadly. One meta-analysis of 90 studies looked at loneliness and early death across more than 2 million adults and found that socially isolated people faced a 32% higher risk of an early death. According to Christina, many of the people she coached were thriving everywhere except romance.

“They’re at the top of their game, but they’re surprisingly single and just don’t know where to look,” Christina said. “Most of them didn’t want to go on apps for a variety of professional reasons, and after coaching so many of these CEOs, a light bulb went off. I decided to expand to matchmaking.”

In 2017, Christina launched Preferred Match so wealthy clients could get personalized coaching and matchmaking they could rely on. “Everybody’s always looking for something different because everyone’s unique,” she said. “My clients are perfectionists; they’re venture capitalists, hedge fund managers, super type-A personalities who are serious about their careers.”

Like the average CEO in the Harvard research, the typical Preferred Match client has little time to spare beyond work. “The time my clients do allocate to personal things, they don’t want to waste it looking for and arranging a date,” Christina explained. “Every individual is different, but most of my clients are high achievers who love to travel and are looking for something serious and long-term.”

At Preferred Match, the Approach Is Hands-On

Both men and women can sign on with Preferred Match, though Christina said steady, high-quality introductions depend on keeping her client base balanced. “I have so many women in my database because the introductions database is mostly women, so I can’t take on too many women as clients,” she said. “I am very particular with who I take on as women.”

Time pressure isn't the only reason busy executives turn to a service like Preferred Match; they also value its discretion. People in high-profile, public-facing roles tend to keep private information offline, and they'd rather not have their names, photos, and personal details circulating on dating apps.

Preferred Match introduces high-achieving singles to potential lifelong partners.

“People turn to matchmaking when online dating isn’t an option,” Christina said. “They have a public career, and they don’t want to run into their clients and have their profiles out there for everybody to see. Matchmaking is a far more private option.”

Christina told us she stays closely involved with every client and adjusts her methods to fit what each one needs and wants. Hectic schedules and detail-oriented personalities don't just fit her practice; they're her specialty. People pick Preferred Match because Christina has the experience, and the track record, with clients exactly like them.

“It’s just me doing the matchmaking, and it’s such a personal business,” Christina said. “That’s part of the reason I’m so particular with who I take on as clients. I collaborate with other matchmakers, which is great, but I get to know each of my clients in great detail so I can make them amazing matches.”

Combining Matchmaking & Coaching Gets Real Results

“While matchmaking does take up most of my time, I offer my clients coaching services when needed,” Christina said. “I offer coaching mainly to those who are struggling with feeling like they aren’t getting what they want out of dating or aren’t sure about some aspect of their personal lives. They just need someone to talk to and give them trustworthy, tangible advice.”

Preferred Match's bespoke matchmaking is built for high-net-worth professionals with packed schedules.

Christina encouraged anyone curious about matchmaking to compare several matchmakers before committing. “When you look at companies, see if there’s high turnover with the matchmakers,” she advised. “You want a person who’s going to get to know you and stay for the long haul. Do the research to figure out if a company is a good fit for you.”

There's no shortage of matchmaking services, and Christina said picking a great one ultimately comes down to finding a person who truly has your best interests at heart. “Look for a matchmaker that’s hands-on and passionate about what they’re doing. They should be doing it for awhile as it takes years to build a solid database.”

After Preferred Match accepts a client, Christina becomes their go-to for all things romance. “I’m with the client every step of the way, such as the intake session and the actual matchmaking process. A lot of other matchmaking companies just shuffle your profile around from employee to employee that don’t really get to know you, you don’t get a personalized experience as there is a high turn over rate with most matchmaking companies. They don’t have skin in the game as they aren’t an owner. Whereas this is my baby, it’s my business so I care. When I say bespoke and hands-on, I mean it.”