OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Panera names Darden COO as president; McDonald’s veteran as VP
St. Louis – Panera Bread Co. has named Drew Madsen president, effective May 11. He will report to Ron Shaich, chairman and CEO, and oversee the core café business, while Shaich focuses on strategy, growth initiatives and innovation across the company.

Madsen served as president and COO of Darden Restaurants Inc. He also previously served as president of Darden's Olive Garden chain and was Olive Garden's executive VP of marketing prior to that.
Report: Judge won’t block Target-MasterCard settlement
New York – Despite some reservations, a federal judge is reportedly refusing to block a proposed settlement between Target Corp. and MasterCard related to the retailer’s 2013 data breach. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson in St. Paul, Minnesota declined a request from a group of banks and credit unions to rule against the $19 million settlement.

Study: Human error causes data breaches

New York - Human error was the number one cause of data security incidents in 2014. According to a new report released by the Privacy and Data Protection Team at BakerHostetler, in the incidents that the firm worked on in 2014, employee negligence was responsible 36% of the time.

That was followed by theft by outsiders (22%), theft by insiders (16%), malware (16%) and phishing attacks (14%).Incidents were self-detected 64% of the time. Of the incidents reported by a third party, 27 % were due to theft.
EMV Countdown

The EMV liability shift occurs Oct 2015 and the United States expects six million to eight million EMV cards to be deployed by the end of the year. Payment solutions giant Ingenico Group believes many merchants will not be ready. (Ingenico Group is an active member of both the Smart Card Alliance and the EMV Migration Forum, which are cross industry organizations focused on easing the U.S. EMV implementation.)

Based on his expertise in EMV transitions, Ingenico Group North America president Thierry Denis offers the following observations and advice:
Joe Fresh and J.C. Penney partnership to end

Toronto -- Canada’s Loblaw Companies Ltd. said it will pull its Joe Fresh brand from J.C. Penney stores in the United States at the beginning of next year as it looks to concentrate on freestanding Joe Fresh stores and e-commerce.
Alibaba names new CEO

New York -- Alibaba Group Holding Limited on Thursday announced that its CEO, Jonathan Lu, will step down and will be replaced by COO Daniel Zhang, effective May 10. Lu will remain on the company's board as vice chairman.
Loehmann’s taps e-commerce expert as brand looks to relaunch as online company

New York -- Off-price retailer Loehmann's announced that Jeffrey Cripe is joining the Loehmann's advisory board, as the company builds its online marketplace. Founded in 1921, the company closed its brick-and-mortar stores after its bankruptcy in 2013. Now under new ownership, the brand is being expanded online.
HRC Advisory names Farla Efros president

Chicago -- HRC Advisory, a strategic retail advisory firm and unit of Hilco Global, announced that it has promoted Farla Efros, an accomplished retailing and merchandising strategist, to the position of president. She will continue to report to Antony Karabus, CEO of HRC Advisory.
Pitney Bowes to buy cross-border e-commerce services provider Borderfree

New York -- Borderfree, a provider of cross-border e-commerce services, announced that it signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Pitney Bowes Inc. for $14 per share in cash, or approximately $395 million. The acquisition comes as Pitney Bowes looks to expand more into software and digital-commerce services.
Former Intermix, Ann Taylor exec named CEO of The Frye Company

New York -- Global Brands Group has named former Ann Taylor and May Company executive Adrienne Lazarus as CEO of The Frye Company, one of the holding company’s premier brands.