Suzanne Greco is leaving her position as chief executive of Subway. She will be replaced by Trevor Haynes in the interim, who leads business development for the company, Fortune reported.
Greco began working for Subway back in 1973. She took the helm in 2015 after the death of her brother and then-CEO Fred DeLuca.
“Subway has been part of my life since I was seven years old,” Greco said in a statement. “I love the brand and the company, and I always will, but it’s time for me to have more balance in my life.”
Greco is not leaving the company just yet. She plans to help during the transition and has set an official retirement date of June 30, when she will become a senior adviser.
“I feel very good about the strategic moves we’ve made in the last three years, and I have confidence in the future of the company,” Greco said.
The news comes as Subway is planning to close around 500 more of its U.S. sandwich shops as it focuses on expanding internationally. Last year, the restaurant chain closed more than 800 stores, with the total count of U.S. locations dropping to 25,908.
‘‘We want to be sure that we have the best location,” Greco told The Boston Globe in April. “We focused in the past on restaurant count. We’re focused now on strengthening market share.’’
She added, ‘‘Store count isn’t everything. It’s about growing the business.’’
Greco revealed that Subway has struggled with growing competition in the U.S., including McDonald’s, which saw domestic system sales rise 3.4 percent last year. Subway’s fell 4.4 percent. In addition, supermarkets and gas stations are now selling more grab-and-go options.
Along with the closures, Greco said some stores are being relocated. The company is utilizing data from SiteZeus to choose better locations. In February, Subway announced a new loyalty program — Subway MyWay Rewards — that offers its customers tokens, which eventually mature into dollars.
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