Leadership

Employees’ favorite restaurant CEO: In-N-Out’s Lynsi Snyder

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Being America’s youngest billionaire hasn’t alienated In-N-Out CEO Lynsi Snyder from her employees, whose assessments landed the 36-year-old in the No. 4 spot on Glassdoor.com’s just-released list of the nation’s top 100 big-company chiefs

Only three other restaurant CEOs made the big-company list: the heads of Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s and Whataburger. None were included on a separate ranking of small and medium-sized concerns. 

The rankings are based on employee reviews of employers. Glassdoor.com, a website that enables job hunters to learn about a company before accepting a position there, weighs a number of factors in ascribing an employee approval rating to a CEO, including the number of positive and negative reviews and how consistent the comments are.

The input of In-N-Out employees earned Snyder, the granddaughter of the concept’s founder, a 99% approval rating. Verbatim comments from employees showed a great appreciation of policies followed by Snyder, such as allowing employees to eat burgers for free. They also praised In-N-Out’s training programs and systems for extending promotions and raises.

Synder, a notoriously publicity-shy and eccentric leader, moved up to the No. 4 slot after finishing 36th in 2017. 

The next-closest restaurant CEO on the ranking was Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A, who earned the No. 50 slot with a 93% approval rating. Todd Graves of Raising Cane’s ranked No. 67, also with a 93% rating, and Preston Atkinson of Whataburger, No. 99, with a 91% approval score.

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