Dive Brief:

• Douglas Fry, Subway’s country director of Canada, will begin serving as President of Subway North America on Sept. 5, as Trevor Haynes, the current president for North America, will depart the company at year’s end, Subway said Wednesday in a press release.
• Fry and Haynes will work together over the last few months of 2023 to ensure an orderly leadership transition.
• Carrie Walsh, formerly chief marketing officer, was recently named president of Subway Europe, Middle East and Africa, while Mike Kehoe, who Walsh is replacing, will become global chief development officer on Oct. 16. The company also named Cristina Wells as senior vice president of U.S. marketing.

Dive Insight:

These executive changes are intended to boost the company’s ongoing efforts to rebrand and return to growth in the U.S. Fry has led Subway’s Canadian operations for two years “as the region continually achieved record-breaking average unit volumes and positive traffic trends.”

Haynes worked at Subway since June 2006, and held a variety of high leadership posts since 2014, when he was appointed global director of restaurant operations. Fry’s appointment as president of the company’s most important region after a short tenure in Canada shows Subway is committed to overhauling its leadership. Haynes expressed confidence in his successor.

“Doug's impact in Canada has been nothing short of remarkable, and I'm excited to see him continue building on our growth and progress in North America,” Haynes said in the press release.

Wells also began her Subway career in Canada, where she worked in marketing, strategy and operations before joining the U.S. marketing team in 2021. 

Kehoe’s role, a newly created position at Subway, is “focused on setting the global strategy for traditional and nontraditional development.”

According to the press release, Kehoe has seen significant success in driving development and led the company in the signing of master franchise agreements in seven countries, totaling 3,000 store commitments. This experience in international franchising and growth across a variety of markets could help as the chain begins working with Shanghai Fu-Rui-Shi Corporate Development to build out a 4,000-store commitment in mainland China.

Walsh, the new EMEA president, was been a leader at Subway for four years, according to the press release, and helped draw customers back to the sandwich giant as its CMO.

In the last few years, Subway focused on reinventing its brand and strengthening operations after years of stagnant sales and U.S. store closures. In 2021, the company overhauled its menu in the Eat Fresh Refresh, then switched over to a new ordering style with the Subway Series — 12 sandwiches that could be ordered by name and number — in the summer of 2022. Subway added several sandwiches to that menu earlier this year. In July, the company said it spent $80 million installing deli slicers in its U.S. stores to support the addition of its Deli Heroes menu category, improving the freshness of meat used in its sandwiches.

The company’s development strategy has changed apace with its menu. Subway, in 2022, shifted away from its traditional focus on single-unit franchisees to prioritize multi-unit operators. The chain negotiated franchise agreements, transferring 230 units to multi-unit operators in the U.S. in early 2023. The company has also focused on non-traditional growth in recent years, including through grab-and-go vending machines. In March, Subway opened a new headquarters in Miami, to complement the operations at its Milford, Connecticut, HQ.

The flurry of executive, operational and development changes have seen the company achieve 10 quarters of sales growth, while it prepares for a potential sale.