Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, president and owner of In-N-Out Burger, will speak at Pepperdine University’s President’s Speaker Series on March 31, 2026. The event is scheduled for 5 PM in Firestone Fieldhouse and will feature a conversation with university president Jim Gash.
Snyder-Ellingson plans to discuss the importance of faith in her personal life and leadership approach, as well as her experience managing a family-owned business that has become an iconic brand since its founding in 1948 by her grandparents Harry and Esther Snyder. She began working at In-N-Out Burger in 1999 and currently oversees various aspects of the company including operations, marketing, expansion, training, store design, and associate engagement.
“In-N-Out Burger has always been a family business, and Snyder-Ellingson intends to keep it that way,” the university said. The company now employs more than 44,000 people.
Snyder-Ellingson also leads philanthropic initiatives through several organizations connected to the company or founded by her family. These include the In-N-Out Burger Foundation—established by her grandmother Esther, uncle Rich, and mother Lynda—as well as the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation and HIS EYES Foundation which she co-founded with her husband Sean Ellingson.
The couple are founders of Army of Love ministry. According to Pepperdine University: “Army of Love strives to exemplify Isaiah 61:1—‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.’”
Snyder-Ellingson is also author of “The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger: The Inside Story of California’s First Drive-Thru and How It Became a Beloved Cultural Icon,” published in 2023 by Nelson Books.
Attendance at this event is free but requires registration. More information can be found on the President’s Speaker Series website.
