Subway, the international sandwich and deli chain, has been bogged down by controversy over the past few years. Their chosen spokesperson, Jerry Fogel, was convicted of child exploitation and lewd imagery and is currently serving his prison sentence. His appeal attempts have also caused a storm of controversy. While Fogel’s downfall has deterred people, there are still many who prefer Subway’s offerings. Although a fast food branch, Subway offers healthier options and greater customization than fellow fast-food chains such as Burger King and McDonald’s. Customers can select their choice of bread, toppings, and condiments, and even whether they would like the sandwich to be hot and toasted or cold. This variety of choices allow customers to have much healthier food than at other fast-food chains. Still, Subway’s popularity has declined recently, forcing the company to close 900 branches in 2018 and 500 additional branches in later years.
The CEO of Subway, Suzanne Greco, has been with Subway for much of her life. She began working there when she was young. However, many franchise owners have been unhappy with her leadership, feeling that she did not properly grow the company or provide the franchises with support. According to Business Insider, many in the industry believe that Greco should not be the CEO of Subway. Although she has been insisting that she is helping the franchises, the evidence is that many are losing a lot of money. Fully one-third of all 25,800 Subway franchises in the United States are not profitable. In response, Greco has not tried to find a solution to these problems. Instead, she has retired, leaving Trevor Haynes, the chief business development officer, as the interim CEO. Greco’s retirement marks the first time in 53 years that Subway will not be run by a member of the DeLuca family.
Suzanne Greco ascended to the position when she was named the successor by her brother, previous CEO Fred DeLuca. Fred DeLuca was battling leukemia and died in 2015. In her statement, Greco announced that she was retiring to gain more balance in her life. She asserts that her business decisions over the past three years have been sound. She felt that the company had been following a sound strategy and she feels that the future of the company was solid. Her detractors in the franchises disagree. They say that she should have resigned from her position earlier. They maintain that her brother made her CEO not expecting her to stay in the position for long. Nevertheless, when Greco announced her retirement, she said that she loves Subway and that her love for the company and brand would be forever. She noted that the company had been in her life since she was a child since her family had been running Subway for decades. She hopes that the next CEO would be able to give the company the turnaround that it deserves.
