ST. LOUIS — Panera Bread has created a new Office of Transformation and Strategy and has hired Nikka Copeland to lead it. Copeland has been named senior vice president of the new office, where she will manage the strategic execution of Panera’s three-year growth plan, driving business model clarity that the company expects to be instrumental as it “transforms for sustained performance and growth.” Copeland also has joined Panera’s executive team, reporting to Paul Carbone, chief executive officer of Panera Brands.

Panera said Copeland brings “a strong track record of leading complex global transformations, unlocking performance and scaling growth” to the position. She most recently was senior vice president, business services domain lead at World Kinect. Earlier, she was senior vice president of finance at World Kinect. She also has held finance and strategy positions at National Grid, Aflac and Burger King Corp.

She received a bachelor’s degree in economics at Univerzitet ‘Sv. Kiril I Metódiji’ vo Skopje in the Republic of North Macedonia, a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Oklahoma and is a graduate of the advanced management program at Harvard Business School.

“I look forward to working closely with Nikka as we develop and execute our strategic plan to build a culture of highly engaged and empowered teams, deliver an exceptional guest experience and increase franchisee profitability,” Carbone said. “Nikka brings a wealth of experience in finance, strategy and operations that will prove invaluable as we create the blueprint to scale and grow Panera for the future.”

Copeland’s hiring continues Panera’s makeover of key leadership since the start of the year. Santhosh Kumar was named chief information officer in February, while Brian Krause joined the company as chief development officer in January. The company also this year has hired Robin Seward as senior vice president, brand and integrated marketing, and Scott Uehlein as vice president, culinary.