BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University will welcome Whataburger President and CEO and IWU alumna Debbie Stroud ‘90 to campus on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for the second annual Kinder Brothers Distinguished Business Speaker Series.
Stroud is a Downs, Ill. native who earned her accounting degree from Illinois Wesleyan in 1990 and took the helm at Whataburger in 2025, continuing the company’s 75-year legacy of “pride, care and love” that stretches across 17 states and 1,130 Whataburger locations.
In her talk, “A Degree of Curiosity: How Liberal Arts Shaped My Leadership Journey,” Stroud will reflect on how curiosity, connections and choices shaped her path from an IWU accounting graduate to CEO of a national brand. She will speak at 2:30 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center.
Stroud's formal remarks will be followed by a Q & A. Earlier in the day, she will visit an accounting class and meet with a selected group of outstanding students.
The Kinder Brothers Distinguished Business Speaker Series, hosted by the School of Business and Economics, brings influential business leaders to campus to share their experiences and insights on leadership, strategy and emerging trends. The series is made possible through the generosity of the late Garry ‘55 and Jack ‘50 Kinder.