Subway announced Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer John Chidsey will step down at the end of the year, in the major fast food chain's latest executive shake-up, according to reports.
Chissey took the helm of the largest sub shop chain in 2019. During his tenure, he drove promotions and deals, and was instrumental in the sale of Subway to private equity firm Rourke Capital last year in a deal worth more than $9 billion.
As first reported, the 62-year-old will remain as a consultant to Subway to help with international expansion. wall street journal.
Subway did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
Carrie Walsh, Subway's president of Europe, Middle East and Africa and the company's former chief marketing officer, will serve as interim chief executive officer while the company searches for a permanent replacement.
The 48-year-old previously held senior marketing positions at Michael's, Pizza Hut and PepsiCo, according to her LinkedIn.
Chissy's departure is just the latest CEO change at a major fast-food chain. Starbucks, Shake Shack, Papa John's International and Wendy's also changed their chief executives this year as fast-food companies struggled to attract cash-strapped customers fearful of price hikes.
Fast-food chains are pushing promotions and meal deals to attract customers struggling with inflation, including McDonald's and its wildly popular $5 meal sale. Golden Arches recently announced that it will extend Value Meals through the first half of 2025 and add a new “buy one, get one” option to its menu.
Not all trades were successful. A Subway spokesperson told the Journal this week that the company is ending its $6.99 sandwich meal deal, which was originally scheduled to run through December, because it didn't attract enough customers. The company announced that until Dec. 26, the deal will be limited to online orders only, and that it will add a 20% off coupon to the app for subscription items.
Mr. Chissey, Subway's first CEO from an outside brand, played a role in Subway's $9.55 billion sale to Rourke Capital and will continue to work as a consultant, with a focus on international expansion. Subway said it has franchisee commitments to build 10,000 new restaurants, including many overseas.
When the Rourke deal was announced last year, Chissey said he intended to remain with the company for the foreseeable future.
Subway rival Jersey Mike's is also eyeing international expansion, with Jersey Mike's valuing Blackstone and Subchain at about 80% this month, despite having only one-tenth the number of stores worldwide. They agreed on a price of 100 million dollars (close to the sale price of Subway).
During his time at Subway, Chissey also focused on improving existing U.S. stores, revamping menus and relocating most of the company's executive functions to Miami.
He worked to bring larger international franchisees into the company. Franchisees operate the majority of the chain's 37,000 stores.
Mr. Chissey sometimes clashed with U.S. franchisees who opposed his demands for new location-based devices such as meat slicers and his moves to honor in-store digital coupons.
Subway's U.S. sales rose 2% last year compared to 2022, according to market research firm Technomic.
