ST. LOUIS — Panera Brands, parent company of Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros., appointed seven people to its board of directors, including José Cil, who will serve as board chair.
Cil will work closely with Panera leadership to drive growth and differentiated value and experiences for guests across its portfolio. He succeeds Patrick Grismer, who served as independent board chair since June 2024 and was recently nominated to serve on the board of Krispy Kreme.
“José brings more than two decades of restaurant industry leadership experience and an impressive track record of innovation and execution to Panera, and I’m tremendously excited to work alongside him to continue powering our growth,” said Paul Carbone, who was named Panera Brands CEO in March. “I look forward to working with José and the leadership team to build a strong culture, deliver an exceptional guest experience and drive franchise profitability. I would also like to thank Patrick for all of his partnership during his time on the board and wish him the very best.”
Most recently, Cil served as CEO of Restaurant Brands International, parent company of brands including Tim Hortons. He helped grow the business to more than $40 billion in system-wide sales and 30,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. He also oversaw the global expansion of key brands, including the reinvigoration of Tim Hortons in Canada.
“Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. and Caribou Coffee are three widely beloved brands with incredible growth potential,” Cil said. “I look forward to working closely with the board, Paul and his management team to build a high-performance culture at Panera with a guest-first mindset and to stay laser-focused on delivering great guest experiences while serving high-quality and innovative food at a good value.”
In addition to Cil, new board members include:
- Neil Golden: Golden held a nearly 25-year career with McDonald’s and served as chief marketing officer for McDonald’s USA from 2007-2014.
- Buck Jordan: Jordan is the founder and CEO of Vebu Inc., a product and technology company enabling the transformation of the food industry through automation, AI and robotics.
- Andre Molinari: Molinari served more than eight years as the head of global development and M&A for Restaurant Brands International and head of international development for Tim Hortons.
- James Pappas: Pappas currently serves as board chair at Innovative Food Holdings Inc. and as a board member at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc.
- Emiliano Román: With more than 20 years of experience advising and investing across the food industry, Román currently serves as managing director and head of consumer and retail at Rockefeller Capital Management.
- José Tomás: Tomás is an experienced operations and human resources executive, specializing in building high-performance corporate cultures. He has held senior roles in several multi-national companies, including global chief people officer at Burger King Corp.
Existing members Gerhard Pleuhs and David Deno will continue to serve on the Panera Brands board.
