LendingTree founder Doug Lebda has unfortunately passed away after an unexpected “all-terrain vehicle accident.” He was 55 years old. According to the North Carolina-based online lending marketplace’s official announcement, the shocking incident took place at one of his family farms over the weekend, resulting to his untimely demise on October 12 (US time).

In light of the devastating shocker, Scott Peyree has been announced as Lebda’s successor to the CEO post.

The longtime CEO is survived by his wife, Megan, and three daughters. “It is impossible to capture the depth of who Doug was and what he meant to all of us,” she said in a statement. “He was an amazing man with a heart so big it seemed to have room for everyone he met. Doug was compassionate, generous, and endlessly curious about the world and the people around him. He made friends everywhere he went. His energy was magnetic, his smile contagious, and his presence was a source of comfort and inspiration.”

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Who was Doug Lebda beyond LendingTree?

The board of LendingTree, a company Lebda founded in 1996, consolidated his identity as a “visionary leader” responsible for transforming the financial services landscape. As per local news outlet The Charlotte Observer, the North Carolina firm has nearly 1,000 employees companywide.

Beyond the business world, Doug Lebda was also listed as a co-chairman of the 2020 Republican National Convention. Former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory remembered the LendingTree CEO as a “true friend,” while also grieving over America losing over one of its “greatest entrepreneurs.”

On top of that, Lebda even taught an entrepreneurship class at University of Virginia Darden School of Business, which also happens to be his own alma mater.

He often came out as a guest speaker on US news networks, including Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNBC and The Street. In addition to his professional stance in the financial services world, he snapped up a chunk of ownership in the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019. At the time, reports cited Forbes suggesting that his 5% stake in the team was estimated to be worth $140 million.

The millionaire LendingTree founder had an estimated net worth of $305 million, according to Benzinga.

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Doug Lebda and LendingTree

The proficient business exec graduated from Bucknell University, and secured his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. His official profile on the LendingTree website reveals that he came up with the company’s vision after facing the “frustrations and complexities of getting his first mortgage.”

As a result, he worked out a way to simplify the loan shopping process by developing the digital side of such transactions instead of customers having to physically visit multiple banks. Following its founding chapter in 1996, the company was launched nationally in July 1998. Lebda then led the company through its IPO in 2000, the dot-com meltdown of 2001 and its eventual sale to IAC/InterActive Corp in 2003, as per the LendingTree website.

Thereafter, he served as IAC’s President and Chief Operating Officer from 2005-2008. Consequently, he joined the then-Tree.com, which finally rebranded as LendingTree after emerging out from IAC as a public company on its own.