Doug Lebda, the founder and chief government of LendingTree, died unexpectedly in an all-terrain car accident over the weekend, the corporate introduced Monday. He was 55.
The web lending market stated in an announcement that Lebda’s demise occurred Sunday and described him as a “visionary chief whose relentless drive, innovation and keenness reworked the monetary providers panorama, touching the lives of thousands and thousands of customers.”
The Charlotte-based firm’s board appointed president and chief working officer Scott Peyree as president and CEO, efficient instantly, and named Steve Ozonian, a longtime director, as chairman of the board.
“The information of dropping Doug was devastating,” Peyree stated.
“However some of the fast impacts of his legacy is the robust administration crew he put in place at LendingTree. I stay up for main our crew and persevering with our shared imaginative and prescient with Doug into the long run.”
LendingTree’s shares fell about 9% — from almost $61 a share to roughly $56.91 — on Monday following the announcement, extending a ten% slide over the previous week.
Buying and selling within the inventory was briefly halted pending information of Lebda’s demise. The shares have traded between $33.50 and $77.35 over the previous 52 weeks.
Lebda based LendingTree in 1996 after struggling to acquire a mortgage and envisioning a digital market the place banks may compete to supply debtors one of the best phrases.
The corporate launched on-line in 1998, went public on the Nasdaq in 2000 below the ticker image TREE, and grew into one of many nation’s largest monetary comparability platforms.
Over almost three many years, Lebda expanded LendingTree’s choices past mortgages to incorporate bank cards, auto loans, insurance coverage, and small-business financing.
The corporate now companions with greater than 500 lenders nationwide.
“The board will work intently with Scott and the management crew to honor Doug’s imaginative and prescient,” Ozonian stated within the firm’s assertion.
“We’re dedicated to upholding his legacy and persevering with the work he started with ardour, integrity, and dedication.”
The Submit has sought remark from LendingTree.
Born Jan. 29, 1970, in Syracuse, Lebda earned a bachelor’s diploma from Bucknell College and later acquired an MBA from the College of Virginia’s Darden Faculty of Enterprise.
He started his profession as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the place he turned annoyed by how opaque and cumbersome the mortgage course of was for customers.
That have impressed him to launch LendingTree in 1996.
The corporate was based on the thought of permitting banks and lenders to compete for debtors on-line — a mannequin that predated the fintech growth by almost twenty years.
LendingTree went public in 2000, was later acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp, and ultimately spun out once more in 2008.
Along with operating LendingTree, Lebda served on a number of company boards and was lively in Charlotte’s civic and philanthropic group.
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