The CEO of a North Carolina corporation, who bought a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers from a Steel City-bred billionaire, died in an all-terrain vehicle crash over the weekend, the business he founded said Monday.
Doug Lebda was 55.
In a company announcement, LendingTree confirmed that Lebda died on Sunday and that the company was grieving his unexpected death. A spokesperson said the accident occurred at a family farm in North Carolina.
“Doug was a visionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape, touching the lives of millions of consumers,” LendingTree’s board of directors said in the statement.
Lebda founded LendingTree, an online financial platform, in 1996 after becoming frustrated while trying to secure his first mortgage, according to his online biography.
In November 2019, Lebda purchased “an undisclosed portion” of the Steelers from Pittsburgh native and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, a news article reported at the time.
Tepper earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, which later named its business school after him, according to a Forbes profile. Tepper’s $23.7 billion net worth, as of Tuesday, made him the 95th richest person in the world.
Steelers management has declined to say how much Lebda paid in the deal.
But a 5% stake in the Steelers in 2019 — which the Charlotte Observer said was “in the range of Tepper’s former stake” — was worth about $140 million, according to a Forbes estimate. By 2020, a 5% stake in the six-time Super Bowl winners raked in $150 million.
The Steelers Tuesday also expressed sadness about Lebda’s unexpected death.
“Doug was a visionary leader in the business world whose innovations in financial services leave a lasting impact,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a prepared statement. “Beyond his professional achievements, he was a generous individual who cared deeply about his family and community.”
An alumnus of Bucknell University and the University of Virginia, Lebda worked as a PriceWaterhouseCoopers auditor and consultant before taking LendingTree national in July 1998, the company said.
LendingTree went public in 2000. It was later acquired by internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp, before spinning off on its own again in 2008.
Shares of Charlotte, N.C.-based LendingTree fell more than 4% by afternoon trading on Monday.
Lebda is survived by his wife, Megan, and three daughters — Rachel, Abby and Sophia — LendingTree’s spokesperson told The Associated Press. In a statement, Megan Lebda said her husband “was an amazing man with a heart so big it seemed to have room for everyone he met.”
“Our hearts are broken, but we are also deeply grateful for the love and support that has poured in from across the world,” she said.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
