Panera Brands elevates Niren Chaudhary as Chairman

Panera Brands Inc., which includes the iconic fast casual and hospitality brand Panera Bread as well as Einstein Bros. Bagels and Caribou Coffee announced that the current CEO Niren Chaudhary will become Chairman of Panera Brands, handing the CEO reins to José Alberto Dueñas, currently President and CEO of Einstein Bros. Bagels, effective July 1, 2023.

Panera Brands has strengthened its leadership in the fast casual segment by expanding its leading digital capabilities, which today account for 53% of total sales at Panera Bread, while increasing its loyalty base to 53 million members and launching an innovative loyalty subscription model that has resulted in 25% of all Panera transactions under the leadership of Niren as CEO over the past 4 years.

Panera Brands generated more than $4.8 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2022.

“It has been an honor to lead Panera Brands during such a transformative time for our company,” said Mr. Chaudhary. “Not only have we introduced innovative new concepts to the fast casual dining industry, but we have expanded our global footprint and formally united Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. to create one of the largest and most vibrant fast casual companies in the world. I have had the privilege of working closely together with José over the last several years, and I look forward to continuing to work with him to drive long-term value creation as Chairman.”

Panera Brands is one of the world’s largest fast casual restaurant platforms, with 3,852 locations and 120,000 employees, including franchisees, across 11 countries.

As of April 2023, there were 2,121 Panera Bread bakery-cafes in 49 states (including the District of Columbia) in the United States and in Ontario, Canada, operating under the Panera Bread^® or Saint Louis Bread Co.^® names. Caribou Coffee provides high-quality handcrafted beverages and food options, with 738 stores in 10 countries.

Einstein Bros. Brands, consisting of Einstein Bros. Bagels^®, Bruegger’s Bagels^®, Noah’s New York Bagels^® and Manhattan Bagel^® is a market leader in bagels and bagel sandwiches operating 984 company-owned and licensed units across the US.

We wish him great success in this current role.