Industry Vet Debbie Roberts Joins Panera as COO

Debbie Roberts joined Panera Bread as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer effective September 8. A well-known restaurant industry leader, Roberts brings nearly 30 years of restaurant experience and will be a collaborative leader for all Panera operations and operations support functions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Debbie to Panera and looking forward to her bringing her strong record of cross-functional partnership, results-driven engagement, and especially, her focus on people as the core of operational excellence,” said Niren Chaudhary, Panera CEO. “As the brand continues to grow and transform, Debbie’s experience will bring fresh perspective and unparalleled industry experience to our executive team.”

Roberts joins the Panera team after three decades at McDonald’s, where she was most recently East Zone President with responsibility for 7,000 restaurants in 11 regions. Roberts’ hire is the latest addition to Panera’s leadership team, which has expanded to bring on industry veterans from world-class companies including Kraft, Yum! Brands, Unilever, Pepsi, CVS, Accenture and Coca-Cola.

“Joining an iconic brand like Panera is incredibly exciting,” Roberts said. “I look forward to building on the team’s accomplishments and helping to simplify and innovate our operations as we navigate this unique time in our industry.”

With investments in technology and operations, Panera offers mobile ordering and Rapid Pick-Up for to-go orders and delivery – all designed to make things easier for its guests.