Patrick M. Byrne

Dr. Patrick M. Byrne, is an American entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer. In 1999 he launched Overstock.com after acquiring and renaming D2 (Discount Directs), a retail company started two years prior. He successfully took the company public and oversaw its growth, with its first $1B year in 2010. Other successes and accolades include Forbes magazine's naming Overstock.com the No. 9 Best Company to Work for in the Country for 2010, and Byrne the CEO with the highest employee approval rating. Byrne also received the 2011 Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Award. On August 22, 2019, Byrne resigned his CEO and board seat at Overstock via a 1600 word email. In the email he admitted to a romantic affair with the Russian Maria Butina but did not provide additional information on how this prompted his resignation. Since Milton Friedman’s passing in 2006, Byrne has served as chairman of The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, an organization leading the national debate for school vouchers. A “classical liberal,” Byrne believes that our nation’s success depends on a sound educational system and healthy capital markets.