Byrne to chair Overstock.com

Jack Byrne, who recently retired as chairman and chief executive officer of White Mountain Insurance Group, will be chairing another board, that of his son’s company, Overstock.com.

Overstock, a company based in Salt Lake City, is an online closeout retailer offering discount, brand-name merchandise for sale over the Internet, thus offering suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel.

Byrne – who still resides in New Hampshire — will be replacing his son Patrick Byrne as chairman.

Patrick Byrne, an Overstock founder, will still keep his title as president.

“I can’t think of a better person to act as my boss than my father,” said Patrick Byrne, in an Overstock release. “He has had a lifetime of practice.”

Byrne has served on the board for most of the firm’s six-year history, but he also has served on a number of other corporate boards, including that of American Express, Lehman Brothers and Martin Marietta. He also is known for bringing back insurance company Geico from insolvency. – NHBR STAFF REPORT