Dive Brief:

• Panera Brands appointed Paul Carbone as chief financial officer, effective Aug. 15, the company announced Tuesday.
• Carbone joined Panera from SharkNinja, a small appliance maker, and previously worked at Dunkin’ in several financial roles, where he helped lead the company through its 2011 IPO before being made CFO in 2012.
• Carbone’s restaurant and IPO experience could be a boost to Panera Brands’ effort to go public again, a goal the restaurant company has pursued since Aug. 2021. Panera declined to comment on its ongoing IPO process.

Dive Insight:

Carbone’s hire follows a handful of recent executive changes at Panera, and many of these company leaders have backgrounds with public companies. 

In May, Panera appointed a new CEO, José Alberto Dueñas, effective July 1. It also appointed former Starbucks CFO Patrick Grismer to head its audit committee. Both men had significant experience at public companies — Dueñas worked at Darden and at Sonic, where he was chief brand officer through Inspire Brands’ acquisition.

Those appointments were framed as preparations for the company’s IPO, which was described at the time as “eventual.” Carbone’s hiring could be a sign that the company is drawing closer to going public. Carbone also served as Yeti Cooler’s CFO, leading that company through its 2018 IPO, according to a Yeti press release.

“Carbone brings decades of operational, IPO and public company experience and will be an integral part of Panera Brands leadership during the company’s next phase of growth,” the release stated. 

While 2023 has been a relatively slow year for restaurant IPOs, a spate of IPOs in June showed investors still have an appetite for restaurant stocks. Pinstripes went public through a SPAC deal, while both Gen Restaurant Group and Cava saw their IPOs exceed their initial estimates. Such deals could be pushing Panera Brands toward a public offering.