Lauren Cody Joins Panera as Chief of Staff & Chief Customer Officer

Panera Bread hired industry vet Lauren Cody as Chief of Staff and Chief Customer Officer. Cody has more than two decades of experience in the food service industry.

Cody has extensive expertise in consumer and business insights, general management and strategy creation and execution at companies within the US and globally.

Cody joins Panera after working at top restaurant brands including McDonalds and Burger King. In her recent 13 year tenure at McDonalds, Cody took on executive positions including Managing Director for the Norwegian market, Vice President of Strategy & Insights for the UK and her most recent role of Corporate Vice President where she handled Consumer and Business insights globally. Cody’s hire is part of an expansion of Panera’s leadership team, which has industry veterans from McDonalds, Kraft, Yum! Brands, Unilever, Pepsi, CVS, Accenture and Coca-Cola.

Tech Investments

Panera Bread has added geofencing technology and expanded Wi-Fi to streamline curbside pickup by letting restaurant staff know when a curbside customer has arrived.

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