2024 Grocery Industry Icons & Innovators

Lisa Ingram is President and CEO of White Castle System, Inc.  Lisa is the fourth Ingram family member to serve as President of the iconic company – the nation’s first fast food hamburger chain founded in 1921.  Lisa is also Chair of the White Castle Board of Directors. 

In her role as President and CEO, Lisa oversees company strategic and P&L execution.  The company has 345 company owned restaurants in the Midwest and East Coast and has recently expanded into Phoenix, AZ and Orlando, FL. The company also sells White Castle sliders in grocery, club, mass, drug, dollar, and convenience stores nationwide.  The company owns and operates 8 manufacturing plants that supply all the meat and buns to the restaurant and retail divisions to ensure quality production and food safety.  

Lisa is active in the Columbus community and currently serves as Chair of the Board of OhioHealth (a $5B regional non-profit hospital system in Ohio) as well as Chair of the Compensation Committee of the Board. Lisa is also a board member of MI Homes ($4B) (NYSE: MHO) and serves on the Nominating and Governance committee and the Compensation committee and an advisory board member of West Side Beer Distributing, LLC (a regional family business beer distributor in Michigan).  Lisa is also a member of the Governing Committee for The Columbus Foundation (local community foundation). In addition, Lisa served on the board of the National Restaurant Association for 4 years.

Lisa received her BBA degree from Southern Methodist University and her MBA from The Ohio State University.  In 2014, Lisa received the Go Beyond Award from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University for her contributions to the community.  In 2020, Lisa received YWCA’s Women of Achievement Award.  She has also been named by Nation’s Restaurant News as a “Power 50” and by Women’s Foodservice Forum as an “Industry Titan”.  In 2022, Nation’s Restaurant News named her as one of the 25 most influential women in foodservice.