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LendingTree, Inc. announced Monday that founder and CEO Doug Lebda died unexpectedly in an all-terrain vehicle accident last weekend.
The board has appointed LendingTree Chief Operating Officer and President Scott Peyree to succeed Lebda, effective immediately.
“We are deeply saddened by Doug’s sudden passing. Doug was a visionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape and touched the lives of millions of consumers,” the board of directors said in a statement.
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The board said that since its founding in 1996, Lebda “has been committed to building a company rooted in consumer empowerment, advocating a mission to simplify financial decisions and advance economic opportunity for all.”
Douglas “Doug” Lebda, CEO of LendingTree Inc., pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. (Chris Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
LendingTree is one of the nation’s largest online financial platforms, offering offers on loans, credit cards, insurance and more through a network of approximately 430 financial partners. Lebda, who graduated from Bucknell University and received his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, worked at the company for 26 years.
He founded the company with the goal of simplifying the process of purchasing loans by creating a website that eliminated the legwork of going to multiple banks for information.
“Instead of physically going to multiple banks, customers could go to a website where the banks would compete for their business,” according to LendingTree’s website.
After its national launch in July 1998, he led LendingTree through its initial public offering in 2000, the dot-com collapse in 2001, and a sale to IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2003.
Between 2005 and 2008, Lebda served as President and Chief Operating Officer of IAC, and in 2008 he joined the newly formed Tree.com, which was renamed LendingTree as it spun out of IAC as a separate publicly traded company. Before founding LendingTree, Lebda worked as an auditor and consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
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In a statement, Peyree said Lebda’s passing was devastating, “but one of the most immediate impacts of his legacy is the strong management team he appointed at LendingTree. I look forward to leading our team and continuing the shared vision that Doug and I have been working towards for the future.”
The board said it will work closely with Peyree to honor Lebda’s vision, emphasizing that the company is “committed to upholding his legacy and continuing the work he started with passion, integrity and dedication.”
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Lead independent director, Steve Ozonian, will serve as chairman of the board, effective immediately. Ozonian joined the Board of Directors in 2008.
Ozonian thanked Peyree for his “outstanding commitment and focus” at the company and expressed confidence in his “ability to continue to lead LendingTree into the future.”
Customer using a credit card. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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The company’s shares fell on the news of Lebda’s death.
