In this Podcast Episode
Rob McNealy interviews Patrick Michael Byrne, Chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, about Deep Capture, his effort to increase awareness and knowledge regarding the facts, culprits and economic implications of naked short selling.
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Patrick Byrne’s Bio
Patrick Michael Byrne is Chairman and CEO of Overstock.com, Inc., a publicly traded, Utah-based internet retailer. Under Patrick’s leadership the company’s annual revenue has soared from $1.8 million in 1999 to $760.2 million in 2007.
Before founding Overstock.com, Patrick served as Chairman, President and CEO of Centricut, LLC, a manufacturer of industrial torch consumables, then held the same three positions at Fechheimer Brothers, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company and manufacturer of police, firefighter, and military uniforms.
In 2001, Patrick began Worldstock.com, Overstock.com’s socially responsible marketplace for handcrafted products created by artisans from developing nations and in rural areas of the United States. On average, artisans receive about 60% of the sales price. To date, more than $30 million dollars has been returned to artisans, allowing them to better their lives through re-training and making improvements to their housing and healthcare.
Patrick is a former professor whose education includes a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in philosophy and Asian studies, a master’s degree in philosophy from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar, and a doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University. In the United States, he is active in the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and supports legislative reform. Patrick has also founded 19 schools internationally that currently educate more than 6,000 combined students.
A self described “classical liberal,” Patrick believes that sound financial policy is essential to our nation’s economic health. In 2005, he began a vigorous campaign against securities manipulation. His stance quickly caught the attention of Wall Street analysts and reporters and remains a point of high controversy today.
Patrick has a black belt in tae kwon do and once pursued a career in boxing. After surviving cancer, he cycled across the country four times. His last ride, in the summer of 2000, helped raise awareness and record-breaking funds for cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
