Niren Chaudhary is Former Chairman and CEO of Panera Brands, one of the world's largest fast casual restaurant companies with nearly 4,000 locations across 10 countries, comprising Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Bros Bagels.

Niren holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College in Delhi and an MBA in marketing from the University of Delhi, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

During his tenure as CEO, Panera was voted Most Innovative Company by Fast Company in 2021 and expanded digital capabilities to 51% of total sales while growing its loyalty base to over 53 million members. Under his leadership, Panera earned industry-leading retention rates and was rated among the Top 20 Most purpose-driven companies and Top 10 most sustainable companies in 2022.

Before Panera, Niren served as COO and President of Krispy Kreme where he created a path for enterprise value growth of 3x over 5 years, and spent 23 years at Yum Brands in global leadership positions including Global President of KFC and President of Yum India. He is an International Coaching Federation Accredited Executive Coach, speaks four languages (Hindi, English, Dutch, German), and holds a black belt in Shotokan karate.

Niren transitioned from CEO to Chairman in 2023 before stepping down in 2024, and now serves as Executive in Residence at Columbia Business School and is pursuing a fellowship at Harvard under the Advanced Leadership Initiative. He serves on the Tufts Medical Centre Board and as an advocate for DKMS, a leading non-profit with the world's largest stem cell donor registry.