PATRICK BYRNE

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Place of Birth        : Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Place of Living    : United States of America

Patrick M. Byrne, 48, is the president, CEO, and chairman of the board of directors of Internet retailer Overstock.com. In 1999, Byrne took control of the company, then called D2: Discounts Direct, and changed its name to Overstock. According to Byrne, Huntsman had before he was elected stated that he was “going to be the voucher governor,” and Byrne had donated $75,000 to Huntsman’s campaign for governor in 2004.

He had previously served shorter terms leading two smaller companies, including one owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The company has since increased its revenue to around $800 million a year, although it has yet to turn an annual profit. In December 2009, the suit against Rocker, whose name had since been changed to Copper River Partners, was settled by Copper River paying $5 million. Byrne has denied that his campaign is primarily about Overstock.com.

Patrick Byrne was right to have shone a light on abusive shorting practices. His predictions have been right on target as well. Warren Buffett has called exotic derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction.”

“We are going to pursue discovery aggressively and follow the rabbit trail of unfair business practices wherever it leads.”

“My bad, … I bit off more technology projects than my colleagues could chew.”

“Candidly, that’s why it’s a market that hasn’t seen a lot of firms coming here.”