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RSSThe Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
By Binyamin Appelbaum, The Charlotte Observer, N.C., The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Dec. 15--LendingTree founder and CEO Doug Lebda, Charlotte's most successful Internet entrepreneur, was named president Wednesday of IAC/InterActiveCorp, the conglomerate that bought his company in 2003.
Lebda will move to New York to begin the new job early next year. He will be replaced atop LendingTree by Tom Reddin, a longtime lieutenant who currently heads a unit of LendingTree called RealEstate.com.
Lebda, 35, leaves Charlotte 10 years after he arrived, fresh from business school in Virginia. He wanted to start a Web site where people could complete a single form and get price quotes from multiple mortgage lenders.
"Charlotte has meant a lot to me," Lebda said Wednesday. "It's going to be very difficult leaving."
His first office was a spare bedroom in his south Charlotte home.
LendingTree now has more than 2,000 workers, mostly in Charlotte and Irvine, Calif. LendingTree said last week it plans to hire another 600 in 2006.
As LendingTree grew, Lebda became a leader in the Charlotte business community.
"Doug is the epitome of the true Charlotte entrepreneur," said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber. "He took a bright idea and turned it into something extremely tangible, and a lot of people got employed along the way."
Morgan said Lebda's example had inspired and educated many people starting businesses in the area.
In 2003, Lebda sold his company to IAC, gaining the resources to buy a number of related businesses, pay its hefty advertising bills and expand employment.
Barry Diller, who assembled IAC by collecting unrelated Internet companies, said in a statement that Lebda's promotion was part of a transition toward running those units as a single company.
"It's not like I'm going anywhere, but the addition of Doug Lebda ... is going to allow me to spend the time I need to on overall strategies and opportunities," Diller's statement read in part.
Lebda will oversee businesses including the Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster and Match.com. LendingTree's collection of real estate and financial services also will report to him.
In past interviews, Lebda has said the companies all serve as middlemen, brokering deals between buyers and sellers (even, or especially, dating site Match.com).
In an emotional e-mail to his employees sent Wednesday afternoon, Lebda recalled the company's journey to success and thanked his fellow travelers.
"After living through every one of our competitive battles, our triumphs, and our challenges, it's difficult for me to imagine not living and breathing LendingTree 24x7," Lebda wrote. "I will miss each of you."
He also promised frequent visits and, in a parenthetical aside, wondered, "Do you think they'll deactivate my ID and make me wear a visitor's badge in the office?"
Reddin, asked for comment, said he will make sure the doors were open whenever Lebda arrives.
Binyamin Appelbaum: (704) 358-5170
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