The long-time CEO will continue to serve as chairman of the sandwich brand.
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Don Fox, CEO of Firehouse Subs for more than 13 years, is stepping down from the position. He’ll be succeeded by Mike Hancock, chief operating officer of the brand, Fox said in a Facebook post Thursday.
“I will continue to serve in the role of chairman, where I aspire to add value as needed while gaining the luxury of time to pursue additional interests,” Fox wrote in his post. “As I told the Firehouse team this morning, it has been a privilege to serve them and the brand. I could not have asked for a greater team of people to lead.”
Fox, who has been with Firehouse Subs for 20 years and worked with Burger King Corp. for 23 years, said, “I am moving on to a new stage of life. It’s the perfect time to turn over the helm to my successor, Mike Hancock, whom I’ve had the benefit of working with the past year.”
Hancock assumed the Firehouse Subs COO role in April 2022 and had served as the COO at Tim Hortons, another Restaurant Brands International (RBI)-owned brand for three years prior.
Fox oversaw the $1 billion sale of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Firehouse Subs to RBI in November 2021.
Fox thanked the Firehouse Subs founders in his post. “I will always be thankful for the opportunity that Robin Sorensen and Chris Sorensen provided, and for the trust they placed in me,” he said. “I leave my role as CEO with abundant confidence in the team and the future of the brand.”
Fox also thanked his family.
“The professional success I have enjoyed would not have been possible without the support of Stephanie Fox, who afforded me the rare opportunity to devote so much effort to my career (not to mention a couple books thrown into the mix along the way),” he said. Fox has authored several books, including “Patton’s Vanguard: The United States Army Fourth Armored Division.”
Fox was named Operator of the Year in 2011 at the Nation’s Restaurant News Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference.
Firehouse Subs has more than 1,245 restaurants in 46 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.
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