From P&G to La-Z-Boy, Melinda Whittington shares lessons on risk, resilience and impact

By Margaret Farnham
Fisher College of Business

When Melinda Whittington sat down to craft her message to Fisher graduate students receiving their degrees this spring, she didn’t have to search far for inspiration. 

From finance director at Procter & Gamble to head of the iconic La-Z-Boy Inc., Whittington (BSBA ’89) has experienced, tested and lived each piece of advice she shared with the Class of 2026.

She understands what it means to take calculated risks, have a trusted mentor, be open and give back. And to those entering business today, she sums up her best advice in a single word: agility.

“Business is an action sport; it requires extreme agility,” she said. “You never know what’s going to be thrown at you. Right now, it’s tariffs, war and AI. To be successful, you have to be continuously learning and adapting.”

The current president, CEO and board chair of the nearly 100-year-old furniture company offered her words of wisdom and experience during the keynote address at Fisher’s 2026 Pre-Commencement Ceremony. Her audience included 243 students from four of the college’s graduate programs. 

“Take calculated risks”

Whittington has adapted to new roles and settings throughout her career, and her learning clearly didn’t end when she graduated from Fisher with a degree in accounting. It continued with a highly coveted internship with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which sets the rules for financial accounting and reporting, and at P&G, where she served in roles of increasing responsibility for 20 years.

“The thing I always push is to take some calculated risks,” she said. “Ask ‘why not’ instead of ‘why.’”

She has done that more than once, including when she accepted the internship with FASB in Connecticut. The move required her husband, Steven, to put his engineering degree from Ohio State on hold while she completed the work. The couple asked “why not” again, when their work with P&G’s global operations offered extended expatriate assignments in Belgium and Costa Rica.

“You have to have the right people around you to stretch you,” she said. “That was my husband, who said, ‘let’s try this.’”

She also credits her success to personal and professional mentors whom she cultivated throughout her career.

“You need that person you can call in the middle of the night when you have an issue,” she said. “Those mentors have to be investments over time. You can’t just build them the day you need them.”

Perhaps the biggest risk Whittington took was to leave her job at P&G when a mentor asked her to join the Kraft Foods Group as vice president and corporate controller. She moved her family to Chicago for the position but ended up leaving two years later due to a company merger. 

She ultimately took a year off to recalibrate and consider her next career move.

“In that period, you could say I should have never left P&G,” she said. “The reality is, if I had not gone through that, I would never have had the guts to be a CEO.”

She joined La-Z-Boy in 2018 as the company’s senior vice president and CFO and, three years later, was named president and CEO. In December 2024, she was elected to serve as chair of the board.

“Be where you are because you want to be there”

It’s natural to want to have a plan for your career, Whittington said. She wanted one, and she sees that desire in her own children and the Fisher students she mentors.

“At 22, you’re trying to pick your career based on if you want a family; you’re trying to plan your entire life,” she said. “Take it one day at a time. Don’t feel like you have to have it all figured out. At the same time, make sure that the choices you are making are keeping doors open rather than closing them.”

Whittington encourages her own employees to answer calls from headhunters.

“I don’t want you at this job because you think you have to be here,” she said. “Be where you are because you want to be there.”

A native of Barberton, Ohio, Whittington studied accounting because she was good at math and thought it would give her job security.  As part of the Accounting Honors Program, she was pushed and inspired by Professor Thomas Burns, who held 7-hour exams on Friday nights and set the deadline for 10-page papers each week. He also wrote her recommendation for the internship with FASB.

“That Accounting Honors Program gave me so much ability to think on my feet, to communicate both written and verbally, and to persevere,” she said.

Yet five years into her career, she briefly considered returning to school for a teaching degree. 

“I thought, ‘what am I doing,’” she said. “Am I making an impact or not?’”

She ultimately realized she could make a difference in the business world through thoughtful leadership, problem solving and ensuring her organization’s sustainability for the future. 

She also found ways to make an impact at Fisher as a mentor in the classroom, a member of the Accounting Advisory Board and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. The Whittingtons also established an endowed scholarship for first-generation students, particularly those seeking a dual degree in business and engineering — Melinda’s and Steven’s degrees.

“My husband and I recognize that generationally we have been fortunate,” she said. “Some of that is luck and some of it is hard work, and we feel a real passion to try and give back.”

Lukas Cengic, a rising third-year student in the Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) Honors Program, is the first recipient of the Whittingtons’ scholarship. 

“I could have attended college without it, but I would have had to take on extra loans,” he said. “Receiving this scholarship has meant a ton. It has taken some of the financial burden off my shoulders.”

This summer, he will serve as a supply chain intern for Swagelok, a supplier of products and services for industrial fluid systems. 

Like many in Whittington’s family, Lukas is a first-generation college student.

“I know my family is very proud of me,” he said. “While it can be challenging not having a roadmap for college or professional opportunities, my family has been incredibly supportive and my biggest inspiration.”

“Make an impact”

Whittington understands that kind of inspiration. Her reasons for investing her time and resources in Fisher have to do with her family’s deep connections to the university.

“Ohio State has been absolutely life-changing for many of the most important people in my life,” she said.

The Buckeyes on her family tree include her husband, father, brother, cousin and in-laws. In addition, her son, Zachary (BSBA ’17), and daughter, Jennifer (BSBA ’22), both majored in finance at Fisher.

Whittington’s mother, Judy Beuth, also established a scholarship in honor and memory of her late father, William (Bill) Beuth Sr..

“My dad was the first person in his family to go to college, and I was the first person on my mom’s side,” she said. “My husband went on a GI bill, and his grandfather was one of the first to attend Ohio State on a World War II GI Bill.”

Each made an impact on their careers and in their communities, which leads to the final message she had for the Class of 2026: 

“There are a lot of different ways to make an impact,” she said. “Where are you going to make yours?”