Executives on the Move – Subway brings in king, & Nissan gets in gear

As end of year approaches, companies are making their last big C-suite overhauls of the decade.

Embattled companies such as Nissan and Subway have named new leaders. The TD Ameritrade name is becoming a thing of the past, thanks to a merger with Charles Schwab. And Viacom and CBS are coming together just in time for the holidays, along with a host of other executive changes.  

As for us, we’ve been making a list and checking it twice. Here are some of the latest executive moves:

New CEO takes the wheel at Nissan

There’s a fresh face in the driver’s seat at Nissan. The struggling automaker tapped Makoto Uchida to serve as its new president and CEO. Uchida, previously a senior vice president with the company, began his role in December.

Nissan’s leadership has been in hot water since the start of 2018, when the company’s stock began to tumble. To make matters worse, then-chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo for underreporting his earnings in November of that year.

This fall, the automaker was faced with more of the same. Then-CEO Hiroto Saikawa resigned in the wake of news that he, too, was paid too much.

To prevent future impropriety, Uchida is expected to take a more collaborative approach to management, splitting decision-making with COO Ashwani Gupta and vice COO Jun Seki. That model will be put to the test with company profits in free fall. The company announced it would cut 12,500 jobs last July.

Subway brings in a kingpin

The last several years for Subway have been subpar. The privately held restaurant chain has been closing locations left and right. But the company is looking ahead, and it has staked its hopes on a fresh ingredient: a new chief executive.

John Chidsey, the former chairman and CEO of Burger King, has been named CEO of Subway Restaurants, effective Nov. 18. Chidsey served as CEO at Burger King from 2006 to 2010 and as co-chairman until 2011.

The hiring coincides with an announcement that Subway is stepping up its efforts to coordinate with franchisees to slow the rate of closures. The company was founded in 1965 and has roughly 42,000 locations around the world.

TD Ameritrade brokers merger with rival

With commission-free models gaining traction, the financial services industry has undergone a tectonic shift. And for brokerage TD Ameritrade, that means big changes ahead.

Longtime rival Charles Schwab is slated to acquire TD Ameritrade for around $26 billion. The merger is projected to close in the latter half of 2020, and once complete, the TD Ameritrade name is expected to be phased out.  

TD Ameritrade, which had been on the hunt for a new CEO since Tim Hockey announced his resignation last July, promoted executive VP and CFO Steve Boyle to lead the transition in the interim.

Viacom, CBS together in time for the holidays

The family’s reunited at ViacomCBS. Dec. 4 marked the closing of the merger between CBS Corporation and Viacom.

This isn’t the first time the two companies have been under one roof. Viacom spun off from the CBS network in the 1970s, bought CBS back in 2000, only to break up again in 2006.

The new company is expected to be a content wholesaler for the other big names in streaming. Robert Bakish, the former Viacom CEO, has assumed the same role with the merged company. Joseph Ianniello will remain as CEO of CBS Corporation, but will reportedly pocket $100 million in severance anyway.

Here are more executives on the move…

• Joe Adamo is now Senior Director, Product Engineering, Gannett Media Corp., Gannett Company Inc.
• Beverly Anderson is now President, Global Consumer Solutions, Equifax, Inc.
• Charles Bancroft is now Executive Lead, Integration, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
• Kevin Berryman is now President and CFO, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
• Dwayne Black is now Interim Co-CEO, Shutterfly, Inc.
• Alysia Borsa is now EVP, Chief Business and Data Officer, Meredith Corporation.
• Thomas Bradley is now SVP, Advisor Services Business (effective January 13, 2020), Charles Schwab Corporation.
• Stephen Bye is now Chief Commercial Officer, DISH Network Corporation.
• Jeffrey Clarke is now Vice Chairman and COO, Dell Technologies Inc.
• Eric Cummins is now CEO, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc.
• David Elkins is now EVP, Global Business Operations and CFO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
• Carrie Fernandez is now Head, Site Reliability Engineering, Twitter Inc.
• Christian Garcia is now EVP and CFO (effective January 6, 2020), Weatherford International. 
• Martin Gilligan is now Corporate VP, Global Marketing and Market Access, Celgene Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
• Eric Hart is now Chief Strategy Officer and Acting CFO, Expedia Group, Inc.
• Stephen Hemsley is now Chairman of the Board, UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
• James Hilt is now Interim Co-CEO, Shutterfly, Inc.
• Christopher Holzshu is now COO, Lithia Motors, Inc.
• Charles Horn is now Acting CEO, EVP and Vice Chairman, Alliance Data Systems Corporation.
• Anthony Hull is now VP, CFO, and Treasurer (effective January 2, 2020), Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc.
• Ramon Jones is now CMO, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
• Peter Kellogg is now EVP and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer, Celgene Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
• Jamshid Khazenie is now CTO, Gannett Media Corp., Gannett Company Inc.
• Angelique Krembs is now Managing Director and Global Head, Brand, BlackRock Inc.
• Brian Kwon is now CEO, LG Electronics, Inc., LG Corporation.
• Lee L'Archevesque is now Chief Information Security Officer, Viacom Inc., ViacomCBS Inc.
• John Lawler is now CEO, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC and VP, Mobility Partnerships, Ford Motor Company.
• Harry Lawton III is now President and CEO (effective January 13, 2020), Tractor Supply Company.
• Scott Lindblom is now EVP and CIO, Michaels Stores Inc.
• Ishantha Lokuge is now SVP and Chief Product Officer, Pearson PLC.
• Victor Lund is now Interim President and CEO, Teradata Corporation.
• Wendy Marlett is now SVP and CMO, Toll Brothers, Inc.
• David McClelland is now VP, Strategy, Ford Motor Company.
• Ross McEwan is now Managing Director and Group CEO, National Australia Bank Limited.
• Satish Menon is now SVP and CTO, Product Platforms, Pearson PLC. 
• Joel Molinoff is now Chief Information Risk Officer, CBS Corporation, ViacomCBS Inc.
• Tian-Chong Ng is now SVP and Managing Director, Greater Asia, HP Inc.
• Christopher O'Leary is now Interim CEO, Tupperware Brands Corporation.
• James O'Reilly is now CEO, Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, Barbeque Integrated, Inc.
• Bill Pappas is now EVP and Head, Global Technology and Operations, MetLife Inc.
• Liz Perl is now EVP and CMO, Simon & Schuster, Inc., CBS Corporation, ViacomCBS Inc.
• Gerald Petkau is now COO and Interim CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).
• Julia Phelps is now EVP and Chief Communications & Corporate Marketing Officer, ViacomCBS Inc.
• Scott Powell is now COO, Wells Fargo & Company. 
• Robert Pragada is now President and COO, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
• Laurie Rosenfield is now Chief People Officer, CBS Corporation, ViacomCBS Inc.
• Kenneth Shea is now Chief Enterprise Architect, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
• Christina Spade is now EVP and CFO, ViacomCBS Inc.
• William Stengel II is now EVP and Chief Transformation Officer, Genuine Parts Company.
• Brian Stief is now Vice Chairman and CFO, Johnson Controls International plc.
• Radha Subramanyam is now EVP and Chief Research & Analytics Officer, CBS Television Network, CBS Corporation, ViacomCBS Inc.
• David Swift is now VP, Client Account Management, Americas, DXC Technology.
• Aijaz Tobaccowalla is now SVP and Chief Digital & Information Officer, Celgene Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
• Makoto Uchida is now President and CEO, Nissan Motor Company Limited.
• Maribel Wadsworth is now President, News and USA Today Network Publisher, Gannett Media Corp., Gannett Company Inc.
• James Whitemore is now SVP and CMO, NetApp, Inc.
• Terrance Williams is now Former CMO and President, Emerging Businesses, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
• Ellen Wilson is now EVP, Office of the Chief Executive, UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
• Philip Wiser is now EVP and CTO, CBS Corporation, ViacomCBS Inc.
• Andrew Yost is now CMO, Gannett Media Corp., Gannett Company Inc.

Each executive featured here has an in-depth profile available on the Boardroom Insiders platform. Want access? Click here to learn more.