Panera Brands rearranged its board of directors as it heads toward a potential IPO.
The group—featuring Panera, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Bros. Bagels—appointed former Starbucks CFO Patrick Grismer as board chair. He replaced former Krispy Kreme CEO Michael Tattersfield, who had been chair since January. Additionally, the company added ex-Bloomin’ Brands CEO David Deno to the board and made him chair of the audit committee.
Grismer has served on the Panera Brands Board since 2022, including as chair of the Audit Committee and lead independent director since 2023.
He previously served as CFO at Starbucks, Hyatt Hotels, and Yum! Brands.
“I am honored to serve in this role at a pivotal time for Panera Brands, as we transform our business to meet the evolving needs of our customers,” Grismer said in a statement. “I look forward to leading our Board to continue partnering with Panera’s world-class management team to unlock the company’s next phase of growth.”
Deno brings more than 40 years of general management, operations and financial experience in the restaurant sector to the board. He most recently served as CEO at Bloomin’ Brands—parent company to Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Steakhouse—and previously held positions as CFO and COO at Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut, and Yum! Restaurants International.
“Following decades working with many beloved restaurant and hospitality brands, the opportunity to join Panera – a pioneer of the fast-casual experience – is incredibly exciting for me,” Deno said in a statement. “I believe Panera has tremendous potential to once again redefine fast-casual success and look forward to working with this experienced Board to help Panera enter a new chapter.”
Panera CEO José Alberto Dueñas called the moves “a key inflection point in Panera’s long-term growth history.”
Panera Brands, formed in 2021, has reportedly eyed a spot on the stock market for the past several years. Soon after its creation, the fast-casual platform announced plans to go public via a merger with Danny Meyer’s special purpose acquisition company. However, the strategy was shut down due to “deteriorating capital market conditions” ahead of a July 1, 2022 deadline.
Panera Brands revived its plans to file an IPO in May 2023 while also revealing then-CEO Niren Chaudhary would be stepping down and moving to the chairman role. He was succeeded by Dueña, the former leader of Einstein Bros. Later in 2023, the group confidentially filed an IPO and intended to reach the stock market in 2024.
However, in July, Reuters reported Panera Brands was looking to sell off Caribou and Einstein Bros. The media outlet said Bank of America was running the sales process and that restaurant operators and private equity firms have shown interest in acquiring the chains. According to the publication, Panera wanted a valuation 10 times its EBITDA of $150 million in 2024.
During this process, Panera reportedly laid off 17 percent of its corporate staff, or about 300 employees, in November 2023. It let go of some more employees earlier in the fall as well; Dueñas said this recent change would streamline communication and enable faster and more consistent decision-making, according to an internal memo viewed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Panera also unveiled its largest menu overhaul in company history this year.
As a combined group, Panera Brands has 3,700 restaurants across 11 countries. At Panera specifically, digital sales mix more than 55 percent and its loyalty program has 61 million members.
JAB Holding purchased Panera for $7.5 billion in 2017 and took it private. Caribou was acquired for $340 million in 2012, and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group was bought for $374 million in 2014.
