A takeaway-focused Panera Bread To Go store in the US | Photo credit: Panera Brands

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Panera Brands is a step closer to becoming a public company after making strategic senior appointments, Luxembourg-headquartered investment giant JAB Holding Company has announced.
 
Board Member Patrick Grismer has been appointed to Lead Independent Director, with former Krispy Kreme CEO Michael Tattersfield joining the Board of Directors, both with immediate effect.
 
Grismer joined the Board in 2022 and has extensive hospitality industry financial experience, including nine years as CFO at Starbucks, Hyatt Hotels, and Yum! Brands. Meanwhile, Tattersfield is credited with leading Krispy Kreme through ‘significant and transformation’ during his seven years as CEO. He has also served as CEO of fellow JAB Holding-backed coffee chain, Caribou Coffee Company.
 
“We are thrilled to appoint Pat to Lead Independent Director and welcome Mike to the Panera Board of Directors as we continue to evolve the company’s business and governance structure in preparation for its important next chapter positioning the company to go public. Both are proven leaders with a strong track record of driving long-term value creation,” said Panera Brands CEO José Alberto Dueñas.
 
Dueñas has led Panera Brands since May 2023, with his appointment also touted as a major asset for the group’s much-anticipated, yet so far elusive, public offering.
 
Parent company JAB Holding took Panera Bread private in 2017 as part of its $7.5bn acquisition of the company. It created Panera Brands in August 2021 with a business group comprising the Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels brands and first filed for an IPO the following November.
 
However, In July 2022, Panera Brands put the planned IPO on hold after ending its partnership with hospitality investor USHG Acquisition Corp (HUGS) due to ‘unfavourable capital market conditions’.
 
Commenting on the new appointments, David Bell, Senior Partner at JAB, said both “were another step in our process of assembling a group of world-class industry veterans to oversee and support the next phase of the company’s growth as a public company.”
 
As of 31 August 2023 there were 2,131 bakery-cafés in the US operating under the Panera Bread or Saint Louis Bread Co. brands. The number of Einstein Bros. Bagels stores in the US exceeds 1,000 and there are more than 700 Caribou Coffee stores in ten countries around the world.