Subway on Tuesday said CEO John Chidsey is stepping down at the end of the year in the latest C-suite shakeup at a major fast-food chain, according to a report.
Chidsey took the helm at the largest sub shop chain in 2019. During his tenure, he pushed promotions and deals and helped sell Subway to private equity firm Roark Capital in a more than $9 billion deal last year.
The 62-year-old will stay on as a consultant at Subway to help with international expansion, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Subway did not immediately respond to noti.group’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 while the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement.
The 48-year-old previously served in senior marketing positions at Michaels, Pizza Hut and PepsiCo, according to her LinkedIn.
Chidsey’s departure is just the latest CEO switch-up at a major fast-food chain. Starbucks, Shake Shack, Papa John’s International and Wendy’s also replaced their chief executives this year as fast-food companies struggle to win over cash-strapped customers spooked by price hikes.
Fast-food chains have been pushing promotions and meal deals to entice inflation-battered customers, like McDonald’s and its uber-popular $5 Meal Deal. The Golden Arches recently announced it was extending the value meal through the first half of 2025 and adding a new “buy one, add one” option to its menu.
Not all deals have been successful. This week, Subway is ending its $6.99 sandwich meal deal – which was originally set to run through December – after it failed to bring in enough traffic, a Subway spokesperson told the Journal. The company said it will restrict the deal to online orders only through Dec. 26 and add a 20% off coupon for any sub to its app.
Chidsey — the first Subway CEO to hail from an outside brand — played a role in Subway’s $9.55 billion sale to Roark Capital and focused heavily on international expansion, which he will continue to work on as a consultant. Subway said it has franchisee commitments to build 10,000 new restaurants, including many locations abroad.
When the Roark deal was announced last year, Chidsey said he planned to stay with the company for the foreseeable future.
Subway rival Jersey Mike’s has also been eyeing international expansion and this month landed a deal with Blackstone which valued the sub chain at around $8 billion – near Subway’s sale price, despite Jersey Mike’s having only a tenth of the global store count.
Chidsey also focused on improving existing US stores, revamping the menu and moving the bulk of the company’s executive functions to Miami during his time at Subway.
He worked to bring larger international franchisees into the company. Franchisees run the majority of the chain’s 37,000 locations.
Chidsey at times butted heads with US franchisees, who opposed his calls for new location equipment like meat slicers and his move to honor digital coupons in-store.
Subway’s US sales rose 2% last year compared to 2022, according to market research firm Technomic.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
