Doug Lebda

Douglas Lebda (January 29, 1970 – October 12, 2025) was an American financial services executive who was the founder and CEO of fintech company LendingTree. Lebda started LendingTree after a frustrating experience applying for a mortgage. Lebda continued to be involved in the company throughout ownership changes and the "burst" of the dot-com bubble.

Biography Lebda was born on January 29, 1970, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where he subsequently grew up. While attending Lewisburg High School, Lebda began multiple business ventures, one of which involved reselling collected golf balls from the nearby Bucknell University golf course. He studied accounting and business administration at Bucknell, graduating in 1992.

Lebda worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Pittsburgh in the 1990s, and enrolled at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business to study for a Master of Business Administration degree. While at Darden, Lebda first conceived the company that would become LendingTree. The company, initially named Credit Source USA, advertised mortgage rates to prospective customers and connected them to banks who issued the loans. Lebda moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1997, where the company eventually expanded its business to include connecting borrowers with lenders on personal loans and credit cards, changed its name to LendingTree and launched nationwide in 1998. LendingTree issued its initial public offering in 2000, at the height of the dot-com bubble. He returned to Darden in the early 2010s to complete his studies, and graduated from Darden's Executive MBA program in 2014.

In 2019, Lebda bought an ownership stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers that was previously held by David Tepper.

Personal life Lebda was first married to Tara Garrity, with whom he had three children: Rachel, Abby, and Sophia, and was married to Megan Greuling at the time of his death.