LendingTree CEO Dies in Tragic ATV Crash – Fintech World in Shock
Founder & CEO Doug Lebda died Sunday Oct. 12, 2025 in an all-terrain vehicle accident businessinsider.com. Law enforcement responded to a missing-person report around 7:30 PM and found Lebda dead at his North Carolina farm by 8:00 PM, with no foul play suspected businessinsider.com. - Succession: LendingTree’s board immediately named COO Scott Peyree as new CEO and lead independent director Steve Ozonian as board chairman marketscreener.com businessinsider.com. The board praised Lebda as a “visionary leader” who “transformed the financial services landscape” wbtv.com. - Business impact: LendingTree stock plunged on the news – down roughly 4% during Monday trading and about 8% by close timesofindia.indiatimes.com investing.com. As of Oct. 14, TREE trades in the mid-$50s investing.com. Analysts have mixed views but a consensus “moderate buy” rating, with a price target near $65 marketbeat.com. - Company profile: Founded in 1996 in Charlotte, LendingTree built one of America’s largest online lending marketplaces. Its platform connects consumers with loans, credit cards, insurance and other financial products from ~430 partner institutions marketscreener.com newsweek.com. Under Lebda’s leadership the company grew from a startup into a publicly traded fintech that helped “millions of consumers” shop for loans newsweek.com. On Monday Oct. 13, 2025, LendingTree confirmed that Doug
