Longtime hospitality leader to retire

Triangle Business Journal 02/25/2025

After 13 years at the helm, the leader of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association is headed for retirement.

Lynn Minges, who has served as president and CEO of the Raleigh-based nonprofit since 2012, is stepping down at the end of the year. Until then, she’ll continue to lead and assist the NCRLA board in finding a new CEO.

Minges said in a statement that the position “has been the privilege of a lifetime.”

“Every day, I’ve been inspired by the dedication, resilience and creativity of North Carolina’s hospitality professionals,” she said. “From our innovative restaurateurs and talented chefs to our outstanding hoteliers and their high- performing teams, the people of this industry have shown me time and time again what it means to put service above self.”

Before joining NCRLA, Minges spent 20 years at the N.C. Department of Commerce where she worked to bring more tourism, film recruitment and sports development to the state.

A native of Bladen County, Minges graduated from N.C. State University with a degree in political science. She started her career in hospitality as a sales and marketing manager at Callaway Resort and Gardens in Georgia.

Minges and NCRLA helped guide the restaurant and hospitality industries through the dark days of the pandemic by launching the N.C. Restaurant Workers Relief Fund and working with local and state government on to-go alcohol sales and other policies.

Board chair Jason Smith said in a release that Minges “has been an extraordinary leader for the North Carolina hospitality industry during a time of both challenge and opportunity.”

Last year, Minges ranked No. 16 on a Triangle Business Journal list of the highest paid nonprofit CEOs in the region, with an annual salary of $354,238. In 2023, the nonprofit brought in $5.38 million in revenue, up from $1.8 million in 2020.

Global executive search firm Stanton Chase is assisting NCRLA in its search for a new CEO.