Current Speakers

George Hanson joined Panera in December 2019 as Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer, bringing his extensive specialty retail e-commerce, retail, and direct consumer marketing experience to the brand.

At Panera, he leads the Digital Commerce, Loyalty and Subscription businesses representing over 50% of sales. His scope includes leading the Digital Product Management, UX, Digital & CRM Analytics, Loyalty & Recurring Revenue, Member Marketing, Digital Performance Media, and Gift Card teams. The innovative and distinct Panera Unlimited Sip Club is the first ever successfully scaled subscription program in the restaurant industry.

Before joining Panera, George served as Vice President, North America E-Commerce and Retail Stores for Under Armour, holding full P&L responsibility for the North America Direct to Consumer business. Previously, he led the digital business for Lane Bryant, and held various leadership U.S. and Global positions at Lands’ End, including leading the Lands’ End Japan business as an ex-pat based in Tokyo.

Currently, George serves as a member of Adobe’s Retail & Travel Advisory Board, Google’s Food & Beverage Advisory Council, and Quantum Metric’s Customer Advisory Board.

George holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.