Dive Brief:
- Einstein Bros. Bagels expanded its C-suite over the last year to support its long-term growth plan, according to a Tuesday press release.
- The chain hired Patrick Waldron as chief development officer in August, Shawna Fehrman-Lee as chief people officer in July and Will Evans as chief financial officer in December, according to their respective LinkedIn profiles.
- The appointments will support the brand’s effort to add 300 additional stores and hit 1,000 units by 2030 as the chain looks to capitalize on demand for convenient breakfast meals and coffee beverages.
Dive Insight:
All three executives bring decades of experience to the chain.
Waldron joins as chief development officer from Amazon where he worked as director of business operations, worldwide retail growth and development for Amazon's Worldwide Grocery business. In that role, he helped lead the real estate team for the now-shuttered Amazon Fresh, including the development of more than 60 new locations, and spearheaded the development of a new Whole Foods format.
Waldron’s commercial real estate and development experience will likely prove useful to the brand. His experience with developing and deploying a new format may be particularly important as Einstein Bros. tested a modernized store format in 2025 for use in its future development.
Fehrman-Lee came to Einstein after a lengthy stint as global vice president of people at HelloFresh, where she led talent and transformation.
As chief people officer for the bagel chain, Fehrman-Lee will “develop and execute a people strategy that supports the company's next phase of growth,” the press release said.
Einstein's storebase is majority company-owned, but it does have a substantial licensed business and franchised component, according to its franchise disclosure document. The chain's use of several different ownership models could make it more difficult — and more important — to develop an effective recruitment and retention strategy.
Evans takes the CFO spot at Einstein after a career featuring significant restaurant experience, including periods in financial leadership with Zoës Kitchen and La Colombe. Most recently he held a post as CFO of Alvarado Restaurant Nation, according to the press release.
Financing will be important for the brand given the scale of its store ambitions. Adding 300 new units in three years would increase the roughly 700 unit chain’s storebase by about 40%.
According to the FDD, franchised units require between $650,000 and $1,247,500 in investments to develop. While the brand’s company-operated units may have a different development cost structure, they are still likely to be substantial investments.
