# Ronald Shaich

> Ronald M. Shaich, known publicly as Ron Shaich, co-founded Au Bon Pain and developed Panera Bread into a national bakery-café business before its $7.5 billion sale to JAB in 2017. He now leads Act III Holdings, chairs CAVA and other portfolio companies, and writes about business transformation in Know What Matters. His career connects close observation of customers with repeated decisions to redirect capital, management attention and the businesses themselves.

- **Role:** Founder, CEO and Managing Partner at Act III Holdings; Chair of the Board at CAVA
- **Organizations:** Act III Holdings, CAVA, Panera Bread (former CEO and chair), Au Bon Pain (co-founder and former CEO), Tatte Bakery & Café, Life Alive Organic Café, Level99, Honest Greens Barcelona, Clark University, No Labels (co-founder)
- **From:** Newark, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Political Science and Government, Clark University, MBA, Harvard Business School, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Clark University
- **Known for:** Developed Panera’s national bakery-café business and helped establish the fast-casual restaurant category., Led Panera’s approximately $7.5 billion sale to JAB in 2017., Chaired CAVA through its June 2023 IPO.

## Career timeline

- **1970s** — Started a student-run convenience store while attending Clark University.
- **1980** — Opened the Cookie Jar bakery in Boston; some retrospective accounts date the start to 1981.
- **1981** — Combined his cookie business with Louis Kane’s Au Bon Pain bakeries.
- **1991** — Au Bon Pain went public.
- **1993** — Au Bon Pain acquired Saint Louis Bread Company, the business developed into Panera.
- **1999** — Sold the Au Bon Pain division and concentrated the renamed public company on Panera Bread.
- **2010** — Stepped down as Panera CEO while remaining executive chair; launched Panera Cares.
- **2012** — Returned as co-CEO of Panera; became sole CEO in 2013.
- **2017** — Led Panera’s approximately $7.5 billion sale to JAB, including debt.
- **2018** — Left Panera’s CEO role effective January 1; founded Act III Holdings and became CAVA board chair in November.
- **2023** — CAVA went public in June; published Know What Matters.
- **2025** — Clark announced his $20 million gift supporting its strategic transformation.
- **2026** — Act III increased its total follow-on growth equity commitment to Level99 to $100 million in July.

## Achievements

- Developed Panera’s national bakery-café business and helped establish the fast-casual restaurant category.
- Led Panera’s approximately $7.5 billion sale to JAB in 2017.
- Chaired CAVA through its June 2023 IPO.
- Authored Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations (2023).
- Received the IFMA Gold Plate Award in 2005, the Nation’s Restaurant News Pioneer Award in 2011 and Restaurant Business’s Restaurant Leader of the Year award in 2018.
- Gave Clark University $20 million in a gift announced in October 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Level99 announced an additional $50 million growth equity commitment from Act III, bringing total follow-on commitments to $100 million.
- **2026-05** — Discussed the expansion of Tatte and Life Alive and his emphasis on neighborhood café quality in an Axios Boston interview.
- **2025-10** — Clark University announced his $20 million gift to support its strategic transformation plan.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ronshaich.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronshaich/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/shaich
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shaich

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ronald-shaich
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21