Panera Brands CEO resigns, CFO appointed as interim CEO.

• Panera Brands CEO Jose Dueñas is stepping down, effective immediately.
• CFO Paul Carbone will serve as interim chief executive.
• Over the past few years, the restaurant company, comprising Einstein Bros. and Caribou Coffee, has been striving to go public.

Effective immediately, Panera Bread's parent company announced that CEO Jose Dueñas is stepping down.

The latest challenge to the company's plans to go public eventually is the change in leadership, which follows several years of hurdles.

Paul Carbone, CFO of Panera Brands, will serve as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement to lead the company, which comprises Panera Bread, Einstein Bros., and Caribou Coffee.

He will remain as a special advisor until the end of March. He assumed the role of CEO of Panera Brands in July 2023, following four years as CEO of Einstein Bros.

In 2017, the Reimann family's investment arm, JAB Holding, purchased Panera Bread for $7.5 billion and made it private. Later, Panera Brands was formed by combining it with other acquisitions.

For years, JAB has attempted to make Panera public. In 2022, Panera abandoned a deal with Danny Meyer's special purpose acquisition company due to unfavorable market conditions.

Panera announced in 2023 that it had appointed Dueñas as its new CEO in preparation for a future initial public offering. The company filed for an IPO months later, in December 2023.

The restaurant industry and IPO market have been challenging in 2024, and the restaurant's IPO has not yet been made public.