Subway Restaurants on Thursday named former Coca-Cola executive Joseph Tripodi its new chief marketing officer.
Tripodi, who had spent more than seven years as the chief marketing and commercial officer for the Coca-Cola Company, will oversee Subway’s marketing, corporate social responsibility, product quality, food safety, public relations and research and development.
“Joe brings a wealth of experience leading global marketing organizations and initiatives for blue chip companies such as Coca-Cola, Seagram’s, MasterCard and Allstate where he drove significant growth and brand value,” Subway CEO Suzanne Greco said in a statement. “I am pleased to announce his appointment and look forward to what he will bring to our customers and our franchisees.”
Tripodi replaces Tony Pace, who stepped down in July to start his own consulting firm.
At Coke, Tripodi was the 2013 Cannes Creative Marketer of the Year. Before that, he was CMO with Allstate, the Bank of New York, Seagram Spirits & Wine and MasterCard International. He was inducted into the American Marketing Association Hall of Fame in 2014 and has a Masters Degree from the London School of Economics.
“I’m thrilled to join Subway at this exciting time in the brand’s history,” Tripodi said in a statement. “As consumers’ tastes evolve, I want to build on Subway’s legacy of innovation to ensure we are always leading in our marketing, product offerings and consumer engagement strategies.”
Tripodi’s task will be significant. Subway is the world’s largest restaurant chain by unit count, with more than 44,000 locations. It has a massive ad budget that enables the company to easily outspend all of its sandwich rivals.
Yet the company has also struggled this year to get out of the shadow of the child sex charges against its onetime spokesman, Jared Fogle, and the sudden loss of a longtime ad campaign that gave the chain a healthy halo. It also lost its iconic founder, Fred DeLuca.
In addition, Subway’s sales have softened in recent years amid intense competition in the U.S.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter at @jonathanmaze
