Ryan Patrick Coyne (born November 12, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and business executive. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Starboard, a digital media and advertising company formerly known as Olympic Media. In 2023, Starboard acquired the social media platform Parler.
Early life and education
Coyne grew up in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and attended Malvern Preparatory School. He later rowed for Cornell University's heavyweight rowing team and was a member of the United States junior national rowing team. After graduating from Cornell University, he worked as an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions division of JPMorgan Chase. In 2019, Malvern Preparatory School inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame.
Career
In 2018, Coyne founded Olympic Media, a digital advertising and fundraising company based in Arlington, Virginia, which was later renamed Starboard.
In 2021, Inc. ranked Olympic Media 13th on its annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. The company was also ranked first among businesses in Virginia and in the advertising and marketing category. The same year, Coyne co-founded We The People Wine, a direct-to-consumer wine company.
Through Starboard, Coyne oversees a portfolio of digital media properties, including the news websites BizPac Review and American Wire.
In 2023, Coyne was quoted by Forbes in articles discussing the impact of artificial intelligence on marketing and advertising.
Wine business In 2021 Coyne co-founded We The People Wine. In an August 2021 Fox & Friends Weekend interview he said the company was selling "tens of thousands of bottles every day" and that its advertisement had received over seven million views. VinePair wrote that the sales figures could not be verified independently and that its review of the brand's social media accounts showed a view count closer to two million across all platforms; it said it could not reach Coyne for comment.
Tactic Global In 2025 Coyne became part of Tactic Global, a Miami-based lobbying firm led by the Argentine businessman Leonardo Scatturice. La Nación reported that he was one of four people who ran the firm day to day. The firm was hired by Argentina's State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE), according to Global Investigations Review. In a July 2026 analysis, La Nación reported that Tactic ended its representation of SIDE in June 2026 and that Coyne, Barry Bennett and Caroline Wren ended their connection with the firm on 1 May 2026; according to the filing, Argentina never paid for the work.
Acquisition of Parler
In April 2023, Starboard acquired Parler from Parlement Technologies for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition followed the collapse of an earlier agreement for rapper Ye to acquire the platform. Following the acquisition, Starboard suspended Parler's operations while conducting a strategic review of its business and technology assets. The acquisition and temporary shutdown received coverage from several U.S. media outlets.
In 2024 Coyne told Wired that Parler's technology and intellectual property had been acquired in January by PDS Partners LLC, and that Starboard retained the data used for email and text-message marketing.
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