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Panera Bread announces COO transition

April 17, 2012

Panera Bread Companyhasannounced that John Maguire has resigned as executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective May 31, 2012, to become the CEO of Friendly's Ice Cream LLC. The company also announced that it has appointed Charles Chapman, III, EVP, Development and Business Development & Licensing, to chief operating officer, effective the same date.

"While we are disappointed to see John leave after so many years of valuable service with the company, we want to thank him for all of his many contributions to Panera's success and we wish him well in his new position," said Bill Moreton, president and co-CEO of Panera Bread Company.

Chapman first became part of Panera Bread when he joined the company's board of directors in January 2008. He joined its management team late last year after he left his position as COO at International Dairy Queen.

Chapman has more than 20 years' experience in the restaurant industry and previously served as chief operating officer of Bruegger's Bagels. He was previously a Bruegger's franchisee with 30 units in the Boston area. He also served in operations, marketing and finance positions at Darden Restaurants.

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