Don Fox, chief executive officer of the Firehouse Subs restaurant chain for the last 13 years, said in a March 31 Facebook post he is retiring from the position.
Fox, who will remain chairman of the Jacksonville-based restaurant chain, will be succeeded by Chief Operating Officer Mike Hancock.
Firehouse was acquired for $1 billion in December 2021 by Restaurant Brands International Inc., a Toronto-based company, which also owns the Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons chain.
Publicly traded RBI reported Firehouse had sales of $1.15 billion in 2022 with 1,242 restaurants at the end of the year.
Brothers and former firefighters Robin and Chris Sorensen founded the chain in Jacksonville in 1994.
Fox joined Firehouse in 2003 after 23 years with Burger King and was promoted to CEO in 2010.
Hancock was chief operating officer of Tim Hortons and became COO of Firehouse in April 2022.
“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,” Fox said in his Facebook post.
“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,” he said.