Lynsi Snyder inherited the title of CEO of In-N-Out Burger, and as the only living member of the founding family, she continues to run the ever-growing business like her own family.
In an interview with Fortune magazine, Snyder detailed how she inherited her family-oriented leadership qualities from her deceased relatives. Co-founder Harry Snyder is her grandfather; upon his death in 1976, the eatery was entrusted to his two sons, Rich and Guy, the latter of whom is Lynsi’s father.
Rich died in a plane crash in Orange County in 1993, and six years later, Guy passed away, leaving Lynsi as the last surviving blood relative of the founders at the age of 17.
Now 42, Lynsi Snyder is a billionaire (with a net worth of $7.3 billion, according to Forbes) and the leader of the company. But her status has not influenced her leadership qualities.
“My grandpa was stern…he was passionate [and] a very hard worker,” she told Fortune. “He was probably the one that got his hands dirtiest.”
“My uncle was super charismatic – out of the three of them, he was the most charismatic, empowering leader,” she continued. “My dad was very much the humble leader that wanted everyone to feel like they mattered, whether they were in the store or whether they were in the warehouse. He had a huge heart for the people that maybe didn’t get as much attention as the underdogs, and he was also a stickler for quality, so he matched his dad with that.”
Combining her grandfather’s passion, uncle’s charisma and father’s humility has not been an easy task, especially in the wake of challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising supply costs and an ever-changing societal landscape.
She mentioned the latter in an appearance on the podcast “How Leaders Lead with David Novak” in late February.
“There’s been a fair share of betrayal and stuff like that,” she said. “But I’m not going to let the few people that screw me over change the positive and connected close relationships I could have with all the good ones. Because there are some that will take advantage or hurt me, I’m not going to make everyone else miss out on what we could have.”
That said, the In-N-Out heiress has fused her predecessors’ qualities with aplomb; she’s been told by colleagues who worked with her family members that her leadership style is in fact a mixture of the men who led the company before her.
“I like that because I love all of them very much and I’d love to think that I have pieces of all of them,” she said.
Despite the familial tendencies, Snyder is “far from cozy” when handling business, according to Fortune, and while she is focused on growing the company (the number of In-N-Outs has nearly doubled under her leadership) her first priority will always be quality.
“We’re definitely not afraid to slow down and just make sure if there’s a tune-up that needs to take place, everyone knows like ‘Woah, they’re not opening those two or three stores this year’ because we really need to refocus and make sure that we’re not forgetting the bun toast is supposed to be this way because Harry wanted it that way,” she said.
But, with strict quality control comes a slightly more laid-back atmosphere at In-N-Out, all the way from the cash register to the C-suite.
“I’m not very tall, and [I’m] blonde, and there was a time where I was trying to dress the part…like I would get some business suits and dress differently,” Snyder explained. “But … this is a family business; my uncle wanted to dress up and my dad wanted to dress down.”
“I’m just going to do what I feel comfortable with and I’m going to encourage the same,” she added. “We want our people to be happy.”
You can read Snyder’s full interview with Fortune here.
