When Tragedy Strikes at Top of a Company : Transition: Loss of the In-N-Out chain’s president in a plane crash comes at a strategic time in the company’s history.

The Wednesday airplane crash death of In-N-Out President Rich Snyder presents the family-owned fast food chain with a leadership challenge and transition questions at a strategic time in the company’s 45-year history.

In-N-Out is in the final stages of transferring its headquarters from Baldwin Park to Irvine, a transition scheduled for completion in February, 1994. Now, however, the more difficult transition involves unexpected changes in management and control.

Snyder, 41, was one of five killed in the Santa Ana crash of a private jet Wednesday. Also among the fatalities was Phil West, executive vice president for administration at In-N-Out.

The company said a senior management team is currently running the 93-store chain, but would not divulge their names. Snyder’s brother, Guy, is company vice president, but was not available for comment.

The restaurant chain’s ability to rebound “depends on what contingency planning they’ve made,” said Ron Paul, president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food industry consulting firm.

A source familiar with the company said that In-N-Out has a succession plan that is now being put into play.

In-N-Out has about 35,000 employees--most of them at the chain’s 89 restaurants in Southern California. The firm also has four stores in Las Vegas. The chain had only 18 outlets when Snyder took over the privately owned company in 1976, the year his father--company founder Harry Snyder--died of cancer.

Leon Danco, director of the Cleveland-based Center for Family Business, expressed doubts that the transition would be trouble-free.

“You almost never see a succession plan left by a business owner in his 40s--I doubt that there is a detailed plan,” Danco said. “If they have such a plan, they would be amazing and fortunate.”

Unlike many other fast-food chains, In-N-Out has a reputation for paying its employees well. Snyder said the company paid more to attract higher quality employees.

In-N-Out Burger “is a well-run and strong competitor in the L.A. market,” said Huntington Beach-based restaurant industry consultant Robert L. Sandelman. “It’s really a tragedy but I’m sure the company will survive.”

“Rich is the cream of the crop,” said Carl’s Jr. founder Carl N. Karcher, a longtime acquaintance of the Snyder family. “A lot of people in this business are jealous of what that company has done. He’ll be missed by many, many people.”