Submarina California Subs announced Suzie Hunter as its new vice president of operations and marketing.

Hunter brings operations, marketing, and franchising experience. She joined Submarina in September 2009 after a four-year career with Dunkin’ Brands in the Togo’s division, where she held a variety of positions including franchise services manager, field marketing manager, and brand manager of LSM. In addition, she worked for Clover Global where she conducted royalty audits on BP Arco AMPM foodservice facilities.

“Since coming to Submarina, I have been focused on the field. The franchisee and area developer communities are the backbones of our organization,” Hunter says. “The stronger we can make them, the stronger and faster Submarina can grow. From an operational point of view, my short-term goals are to assist the franchisees and area developers in providing the ‘Best Subs Under the Sun’ by looking at ways to improve the guest experience, decrease their food costs without compromising quality, and increase their sales with turnkey programs and promotions.”

Prior to coming to the food industry, Hunter worked for ExxonMobil for 20 years. Starting out immediately from college, she worked with franchisees as a territory manager and was quickly promoted to working with the corporate stores. Over the 20 years, she held a variety of positions including training, merchandising, franchise support, and programs management. During her career with ExxonMobil and Dunkin’ Brands she received her MBA.

With numerous competitors now in the sandwich segment, Hunter recognizes the importance of community presence and aims to facilitate that presence through Submarina’s marketing and PR partnerships, in addition to teaching franchisees and area developers how to do the same.

“The Submarina Support Center is made up of a tremendous group of hardworking individuals who are all devoted to the brand and love what they do. It’s easy to walk into a job where everyone can hardly wait to come to work each day,” Hunter says. “I join them in their excitement and am anxious to see the results we can accomplish together.”