CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 13, 2018 — LendingTree®, the nation's leading online loan marketplace, has hired Sushil Sharma, former CPO at Match.com, as its Chief Product Officer, as the company underscores its focus on delivering best-in-class products to both lenders and consumers. Effective immediately, Sushil will oversee product teams across the organization, utilizing product innovation to help simplify financial decisions for consumers, and to help drive growth for all LendingTree businesses. Additionally, Nikul Patel, formerly the Chief Product and Strategy Officer, has been appointed to Chief Strategy Officer and will dedicate his time to focus on corporate strategy as the company continues to scale.   

Sushil has over 18 years of product management & technology experience in Travel, e-Commerce and Social. In his most recent role at Match, Sushil led product, analytics, monetization and design teams, helping to drive subscriber conversion growth and utilizing algorithms and product innovation to connect more users with potential matches. Prior to Match, Sushil held various management roles at Zynga, Sears, and Travelocity.

"This is exciting news for LendingTree and its customers. I'm thrilled to welcome Sushil to the LendingTree team," said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree. "Sushil is a prominent thought leader and entrepreneur, offering a wealth of knowledge and experience in building innovative solutions to drive business growth and delight customers. His data-driven approach to product innovation will help LendingTree further differentiate our products and elevate our leadership position in the continually evolving Fintech industry."

"I am incredibly excited to join the leadership team at LendingTree," said Sushil Sharma, the newly-appointed Chief Product Officer at LendingTree.  "I am inspired by Doug's vision to empower consumers to make the smartest financial decisions and at the same time, help lenders build meaningful businesses. The great work that the team has done over the years is evident from the amazing business growth and product offerings. I've been fortunate to be part of two industries that have scaled with gaming and personals. I think the Fintech space will see lot of business model disruptions in the near future, and LendingTree is perfectly poised to capture the market opportunity with an innovative product platform and a talented team."

Sushil earned his MBA from The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He also holds M.S in Computer Science & Engineering from The University of Texas, Arlington.

Nikul Patel, who has been with LendingTree since June 2012, has held several different executive and C-level positions at the company.

"I'm thrilled to have Nikul as our Chief Strategy Officer," continued Lebda. "Nikul has been instrumental in diversifying the business by launching non-mortgage products like personal loans and business loans. Since joining LendingTree six years ago, Nikul has led our efforts on My LendingTree and the new mortgage experiences, and overall, has had a significant impact on our business. Nikul will now focus on our growth strategy and new business efforts, areas where he is not only highly skilled, but also highly passionate."