Panera Brands Inc. announced that José Cil was appointed chairman of its Board of Directors. Cil 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 to Panera 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, Chief Executive Officer of Panera Brands. “I look forward to working with José and the leadership team to build a strong culture, to deliver an exceptional guest experience and to 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.”

“Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. and Caribou Coffee are three widely beloved brands with incredible growth potential,” said Cil. “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.”

José Cil most recently served as CEO of Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs brands.

The boards of Panera Brand companies also welcomed Neil Golden, Buck Jordan, Andre Molinari, James Pappas, Emiliano Román and José Tomás.

Photo: Panera social media