Meenakshi Nagarajan

Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Panera Bread

Speaker

Meenakshi serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Panera Bread, where she blends strategic insight with creativity to elevate customer experiences. Her leadership has been key to the growth of Panera’s digital commerce business. She infused fresh energy into the iconic MyPanera loyalty program and pioneered the industry-first Unlimited Sip Club subscription, enhancing customer loyalty and engagement at scale.

At Panera, Meenakshi has also led significant advancements in personalized customer engagement, using CRM and data-driven strategies to deliver tailored interactions that resonate with guests. This has deepened customer connections and fostered greater brand loyalty.

With over a decade of experience driving digital transformation and customer-centric marketing, Meenakshi previously served as VP, Head of Marketing at sweetgreen, where she launched the brand’s first integrated campaign, “Follow Your Greens.” She also developed a comprehensive digital marketing ecosystem, enabling personalized messaging to improve customer acquisition and retention. Her collaboration with chef David Chang on a sustainability campaign further solidified sweetgreen’s position as a purpose-driven brand.

Earlier in her career, she held key roles at Domino’s, General Mills (Yoplait), and PepsiCo (Tropicana), where she sharpened her expertise in consumer insights, digital innovation, and brand building.

Meenakshi holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a Master’s in Management Information Systems from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Originally from India, she earned her undergraduate degree in Finance from BITS Pilani. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling and exploring the outdoors with her husband and two daughters.