Alicia Mowder is the Senior Vice President of Product Strategy & Insights for Panera Bread. A passion for creating amazing guest experiences has driven her for the last 15 years in the retail and restaurant industries. At Panera, Alicia’s team is critical in developing the transformation strategy and leading insights across guests, products and new platforms to deliver aggressive same store sales growth and new menu innovation. In 2023, Alicia was honored as a Brand Innovators 40 under 40 for her leadership in marketing and sparking brand devotion.
Prior to Panera, Alicia was the Head of U.S. Marketing, overseeing the more than 7,000 stores across the region. During her time at Circle K, she developed marketing plans to drive the launch of fresh ground coffee which won the 2021 Hot Beverage Innovator of the Year, and the Fresh Food Fast food service program which won the 2020 Food Service Innovator of the year award. In 2020, Alicia was recognized as a Future Leader in Convenience for outstanding leadership and impact in the industry.
She was also previously a marketing leader for both Sonic Drive-In and Payless ShoeSource. While at Sonic Drive-In, her work on the first blended mushroom burger in Quick Service Restaurant received the 2018 MenuMaster award for best new limited-time offering (“LTO”).
Born and raised in Kansas, Alicia holds a Master of Science degree in Marketing Communications from the University of Kansas, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from Washburn University and a certificate from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She currently resides in Kansas with her husband, Christopher, and two children, Ellie and Addison.