Descendant of White Castle Founder Now Its COO

The Board of Directors of White Castle System Inc. promoted Lisa Ingram to chief operating officer. She will continue in her current roles as vice president of restaurant operations and co-chair of the Executive Council.

“Lisa has played an instrumental role in White Castle’s growth and success for more than a decade,” says White Castle CEO E. W. “Bill” Ingram III. “As COO, she brings valuable expertise in operational efficiency and process improvement to the company as a whole, which will enable White Castle to continue to grow while remaining true to our unique vision and values as a family-owned business and the nation’s first fast food hamburger chain.”

Ingram earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing and finance from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business before beginning her career as a marketing manager with computer supplies distributor Daisytek.

She joined White Castle in 1997 as a marketing manager before leaving to earn an MBA from The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. While attending Ohio State, she worked for Hewlett Packard on a European channel strategy and received the Academic Excellence in Consulting Award from her professors.

Ingram returned to White Castle in 2000 as director of restaurant operations and was later promoted to vice president of restaurant operations, responsible for overall management and strategic direction for the Restaurant Division as well as strategic direction to the Site Selection, Development and Marketing departments. She also serves as co-chair of the White Castle Executive Council, which oversees company operations and profitability.

Business First of Columbus honored Ingram as one of central Ohio’s “Forty Under 40” most promising young executives. The great-granddaughter of White Castle founder E. W. “Billy” Ingram, she has continued the Ingram family’s tradition of community service as a board member for organizations including Lutheran Social Services, Junior League of Columbus, Childhood League Center, Action for Children, and Experience Columbus.