Online retailer Overstock.com, Inc. has announced an overhaul in senior leadership following the return of company founder and CEO, Patrick M. Byrne, from a medical leave of absence.
In April, Mitch Edwards, General Counsel and Senior Vice President, was appointed as the acting CEO when Byrne took an indefinite medical leave of absence.
According to the latest announcement, Saum Noursalehi, who has been with Overstock.com since 2005, has been named president of Overstock.com’s retail business. Noursalehi currently serves as the company’s chief revenue officer. He has previously been senior vice president of product development and marketing, and directed website, mobile and search engine optimization and software development.
“I am incredibly pleased that Saum has accepted this opportunity,” said Byrne. “Saum has knocked the cover off the ball many times over the years, and I know he will here as well.”
In addition, Jonathan Johnson, Overstock.com’s chairman of the board, has been named as president of Medici, Overstock.com’s group of blockchain technology and fintech businesses. Byrne said that under Johnson’s leadership, Medici’s initiatives, including t0.com, and investments in Bitt.com, PeerNova and IdentityMind, will continue to grow and innovate while differentiating themselves in a competitive and fast-growing marketplace. Johnson will remain in his position as chairman.
“Along with its online shopping business, Overstock is an incubator of financial technology,” continued Byrne. “Jonathan shares my pro-freedom instincts, and therefore also shares my excitement about the blockchain revolution’s potential to reduce society’s dependency upon certain rent-seeking and capture-prone centralized institutions. I’m thrilled he will be leading Medici as we pioneer the application of the blockchain to financial systems.”
