Niren Chaudhary, former CEO of Panera Brands and current executive coach and mentor, recently shared insights about values-based leadership and the key experiences that shaped his leadership philosophy. Through personal stories of loss, pain, and failure, Chaudhary demonstrated how these challenging moments formed the foundation of his leadership approach. Following a meaningful meeting at the Aspire Institute Cambridge office, he agreed to lead a virtual Mentorship Session as part of Aspire Institute’s Extended Leadership Program for Aspire Leaders Program alumni, encouraging them to develop clarity around their personal values as a pathway to achieving their goals.
Distinguished Career and Personal Journey of Resilience
With over 35 years of global leadership experience, Chaudhary has served as President of KFC, COO of Krispy Kreme, and most recently, Chairman & CEO of Panera Brands. His personal life has been shaped by the love he shares with his wife of 38 years, Aditi, their son who is a full-time musician, and the experience of losing two daughters, Tanya and Aisha.
Chaudhary reflected on how his values have evolved through each decade of his life, from seeking love to establishing financial stability. Throughout his career transitions and personal challenges, he has relied on several core principles: embracing adventure, embodying the change he wants to see, prioritizing relationships over transactions, and offering trust freely.
“I believe in life long learning and love transitions,” he explained. “My self worth is who I am, not what I do. What I do should keep evolving.”
As a former Advanced Leadership Initiative fellow at Harvard University, Chaudhary now dedicates his time to mentoring and coaching others, leveraging his vast experience to help the next generation of leaders.
Values-Based Leadership
In his virtual Mentorship Session with Aspire Leaders Program alumni, Chaudhary shared a model to guide young leaders.
“Leadership is really a privilege to be force multipliers for good,” he said.
He outlined a clear framework for values-based leadership, highlighting the importance of: gaining clarity of personal values, developing consistent thoughts aligned with these values, and demonstrating these values through consistent behaviors and habits; ultimately, achieving success through this alignment.
“To be able to achieve anything you want, you need to have clarity of your values and beliefs,” he advised.
Chaudhary shared that his current values of courage, gratitude, congruence, and resilience guide his decisions and actions. These values were forged through profound personal and professional experiences, including the loss of his children, witnessing their remarkable strength, and navigating career setbacks.
He cites losses at work where he had to keep learning, unlearning, and relearning as key to defining these values he holds today in addition to the times he led through his ego rather than a desire to serve others.
A central theme in Chaudhary’s session was the critical importance of aligning behaviors with values and holding oneself accountable.
“The only ways for our behaviors to be consistent with who we want to be, you have to have clarity of your values,” he emphasized. “People can only see what we do, not what we think.”
This principle of behavioral consistency forms the foundation of authentic leadership, ensuring that a leader’s actions reflect their stated values and beliefs.
Lessons from Aisha: Courage, Gratitude, and Generosity
As Chaudhary has learned a lot from his daughter, he also shared her journey as an example of values based leadership. At just 13 years old, Aisha was told she would only live another five years. During this limited time, she delivered two TEDx talks, authored a book, created beautiful paintings, and lived with remarkable clarity of her values: courage, gratitude, and generosity.
Demonstrating extraordinary courage, she accepted her first TED talk invitation despite the challenges.
“I don’t think I can and therefore I must,” she said.
She went on to deliver another TEDx talk shortly before her passing and wrote a book during her final two months of life, driven by a desire to help others despite her circumstances.
“If you can’t change your own life, there’s always someone else’s,” she had explained.
These powerful messages continue to inspire Chaudhary’s current mission of helping others achieve success.
Partnering with Aspire: Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders
After meeting with the Aspire Institute team in Cambridge, MA, Chaudhary volunteered his time to engage with Aspire Leaders Program alumni through the Mentorship Series, motivated by the organization’s mission to expand access to educational opportunities.
During the session, he was impressed by the participants’ eagerness to learn and their thoughtful questions about leadership development and community change.
Chaudhary offered three key pieces of advice for young leaders navigating their career paths:
- Focus on building character, not just competence
- Commit to continuous learning through cycles of learning, unlearning, and relearning
- Develop resilience in the face of challenges
“Failures are just ways of finding out things that don’t work,” he emphasized. “Focus on who you can be, what you want to be, [and] what your core values are.”
Through his partnership with Aspire Institute, Niren Chaudhary continues to exemplify values-based leadership, demonstrating how clarity of purpose and alignment between values and actions can create lasting positive impact in both business and life.
