C. Stephen Lynn is an American businessman and philanthropist from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He spent the bulk of his career in the

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

industry, serving as the chairman and CEO of the Sonic Corporation from 1983 to 1995, chairman and CEO of

Shoney's Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates restaurants in 17 states, primarily in the Southern United States, South with additional locations in the Midwest and lower Mid-Atlantic states. Founder ...

from 1995 to 1998, and CEO of

Back Yard Burgers Back Yard Burgers, Inc., is an American regional franchise chain of quick serve restaurants. As of March 2022, there are 38 restaurants in the Southern and Midwestern United States. Back Yard Burgers is a subsidiary of private equity firm Axum C ...

from 2007 to 2010. Lynn currently serves as CEO of GGR Enterprises, a motorsports marketing enterprises headquarter in North Carolina.

Early life

C. Stephen Lynn graduated from the

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

. He received an M.B.A. from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

Career

Lynn has spent most of his career as a businessman in the fast food industry. He served as the director of distribution for

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

from 1973 to 1978.Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc: C. Stephen Lynn
''Bloomberg Business''Krispy Kreme: Board of Directors
/ref> He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Sonic Corporation from 1983 to 1995, and of

from 1995 to 1998. Lynn served as the chairman of

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

, an engine corporation, from 1999 to 2011. He returned to the fast food industry, serving as the chief executive officer of

from 2007 to 2010. In 2012, he founded RP3, a merger and acquisition firm in the fast food industry. He serves as its managing partner. He also serves on the board of directors of

Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans ch ...

Philanthropy

He serves on the board of directors of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He also serves on the board of directors of the Tennessee Tech University Foundation.Tennessee Tech University Foundation Board
/ref> He serves on the Christian Business Leaders Roundtable. In 2013, he co-chaired the Tennessee Waltz with his wife at the

Tennessee State Capitol The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It serves as the home of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly–the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tenne ...

, hosted by Tennessee Governor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

.Ted Clayton
On the Town
''Nashville Arts Magazine'', June 2013

Personal life

He is married to Milah P. Lynn.J.R. Lind
A glimpse at the most expensive homes in Nashville
, ''Nashville City Paper'', August 26, 2012 They reside in

Belle Meade, Tennessee Belle Meade is a city in Davidson County, Tennessee. Its total land area is , and its population was 2,912 at the time of the 2010 census. Belle Meade operates independently as a city, complete with its own regulations, a city hall, and police f ...

, near

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, C. Stephen Living people People from Belle Meade, Tennessee Tennessee Technological University alumni Businesspeople from Tennessee American chief executives American corporate directors Fast food American philanthropists Year of birth missing (living people)