ST. LOUIS — Panera Brands Inc., which includes the Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. brands, has named Paul Carbone interim chief executive officer. Carbone succeeds Jose Alberto Dueñas, who has decided to step down from his role after a year and a half at the helm. Panera said Dueñas will serve as a special adviser to the CEO through the end of March.

Carbone has been chief financial officer at Panera Brands since August 2023. Prior to joining Panera Brands he was CFO at SharkNinja, and earlier was CFO at Yeti Coolers. He also has worked as chief operating officer at Talbots and spent more than nine years at Dunkin’ Brands in a variety of roles, including CFO, vice president of strategy and finance, and vice president of financial planning and analysis. Other roles include CFO at Tween Brands, vice president of finance at Victoria’s Secret and founder and sole proprietor of Haymarket Bakery Outlet.

He received a bachelor’s degree in management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance at the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business and a master’s degree in finance at the Gies College of Business – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.