{"id":1214,"date":"2025-10-14T10:21:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T10:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1214\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T10:21:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T10:21:20","slug":"lendingtree-ceo-doug-lebda-55-dies-in-atv-accident-devastating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1214\/","title":{"rendered":"LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda, 55, dies in ATV accident: ‘devastating’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doug Lebda, the founder and chief executive of LendingTree, died unexpectedly in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend, the company announced Monday<\/a>. He was 55.<\/p>\n

The online lending marketplace said in a statement that Lebda\u2019s death<\/a> occurred Sunday and described him as a \u201cvisionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape, touching the lives of millions of consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Charlotte-based company\u2019s board appointed president and chief operating officer Scott Peyree as president and CEO, effective immediately, and named Steve Ozonian, a longtime director, as chairman of the board.<\/p>\n

Doug Lebda, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LendingTree, died unexpectedly on Sunday. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe news of losing Doug was devastating,\u201d Peyree said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut one of the most immediate impacts of his legacy is the strong management team he put in place at LendingTree. I look forward to leading our team and continuing our shared vision with Doug into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

LendingTree\u2019s shares fell about 9% \u2014 from nearly $61 a share to roughly $56.91 \u2014 on Monday following the announcement, extending a 10% slide over the past week.<\/p>\n

Trading in the stock was briefly halted pending news of Lebda\u2019s death. The shares have traded between $33.50 and $77.35 over the past 52 weeks.<\/p>\n

LendingTree confirmed his passing in a statement that highlighted Lebda\u2019s transformative impact on the financial services industry. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Lebda founded LendingTree in 1996 after struggling to obtain a mortgage and envisioning a digital marketplace where banks could compete to offer borrowers the best terms.<\/p>\n

The company launched online in 1998, went public on the Nasdaq in 2000 under the ticker symbol TREE, and grew into one of the country\u2019s largest financial comparison platforms.<\/p>\n

Over nearly three decades, Lebda expanded LendingTree\u2019s offerings beyond mortgages to include credit cards, auto loans, insurance, and small-business financing.<\/p>\n

The company now partners with more than 500 lenders nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe board will work closely with Scott and the leadership team to honor Doug\u2019s vision,\u201d Ozonian said in the company\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n

Lebda poses with Charlotte Hornets basketball players in 2017. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to upholding his legacy and continuing the work he began with passion, integrity, and dedication.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from LendingTree.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Born Jan. 29, 1970, in Syracuse, Lebda earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Bucknell University<\/a> and later received an MBA from the University of Virginia\u2019s Darden School of Business.<\/p>\n

He began his career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers<\/a>, where he became frustrated by how opaque and cumbersome the mortgage process was for consumers.<\/p>\n

That experience inspired him to launch LendingTree in 1996.<\/p>\n

Lebda founded LendingTree nearly 30 years ago after being frustrated with the process of securing a loan. Rafael Henrique \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

The company was founded on the idea of allowing banks and lenders to compete for borrowers online \u2014 a model that predated the fintech boom by nearly two decades.<\/p>\n

LendingTree went public in 2000, was later acquired by IAC\/InterActiveCorp, and eventually spun out again in 2008.<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to running LendingTree, Lebda served on several corporate boards and was active in Charlotte\u2019s civic and philanthropic community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doug Lebda, the founder and chief executive of LendingTree, died unexpectedly in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1602,288,1603,9,11,10,1601],"class_list":["post-1214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-atv","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}