Friday Breakfast

SUSAN LACZ

PRINCIPAL AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

RIDGEWELLS

Susan Lacz, a recognized leader and sought-after speaker in the catering and special events industry, is principal and chief executive officer of Ridgewells Catering. She joined the nearly 90 year-old Washington, DC catering company as a sales representative in 1986 and with her business partners purchased the firm in 1997.

Susan has been instrumental in the growth of the company’s portfolio adding such clients as the United States Golf Association, AT&T, Rolex, Neiman Marcus and American Express. Additionally the company has expanded under her direction to include Haute Catering by Ridgewells, a union company responsible for catering services for the US House of Representatives, the National Archives and the National Education Association and Purple Tie by Ridgewells, the special event services division that provides professional service personnel to the corporate and hospitality industries.

Among her many achievements was the creation of Ridgewells’ Major Events division; in 1989 she was integral in winning the bid for the PGA championship in Chicago, marking Ridgewells’ first outside-the-Beltway event. Susan has been personally involved in overseeing Ridgewells’ services to Corporate and VIP clients at many notable sporting events including three NFL Super Bowls and numerous professional golf tournaments including 21 U.S. Open Men’s Golf Championships, two U.S. Women’s Open Championships, two PGA Championships and three AT&T National Tournaments.

Susan currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Washington Board of Trade (GWBOT), Junior Achievement, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, and Marymount University, and currently chairs Marymount’s Capital Campaign. She was honored for her leadership by the Washington Business Journal by being named as a Woman Who Means Business and Washington Business Journals Power 100. She has been a finalist for The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Greater Washington

Award and a recipient of the Brava! Award from SmartCEO Magazine. Recognized for her charitable work she was bestowed by Miriam’s Kitchen with the Bowls of Compassion Award and the Greater Washington Board of Trade presented Susan and Ridgewells with its Golden Links Award. She is an active member of the Young President’s Organization Gold (YPO Gold) and the Economic Club of Washington, DC.