Carrie Walsh Takes Hand And Stone CEO Role After Subway Franchise Leadership Run

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa has named Carrie Walsh as chief executive officer, effective July 1, giving the more than 650-unit wellness franchise a leader with recent experience inside one of the world's largest franchise systems. Walsh most recently served as interim chief executive of Subway and previously led Subway's Europe, Middle East and Africa region, overseeing more than 6,000 franchise locations. That background makes the appointment relevant beyond a normal executive change.

Hand & Stone is already a large service franchise, with locations across 36 U.S. states and Canada. The company also says it is the number one franchise in the massage and spa services category in Entrepreneur's 2026 Franchise 500 ranking. At that scale, the CEO role is not simply about brand awareness. It is about protecting franchisee economics, strengthening membership value, managing corporate and franchised spa consistency, and keeping the brand relevant as wellness spending becomes more competitive.

Walsh's resume points to the areas Hand & Stone likely wants to emphasize. The announcement highlights her experience in consumer brands, global franchising, marketing, digital transformation, product and service evolution, and store experience. Those are practical priorities for a spa franchise. A membership-based wellness brand needs local execution at the unit level, but it also needs central systems that make booking, retention, service quality and brand communication easier for franchise owners. A leader who has worked at Subway scale brings a perspective on how small operating changes can matter across a large network.

Todd Leff, who served as interim CEO and chairman, will assist Walsh during the transition and remain chairman of the board. He said Walsh brings a mix of brand-building expertise, operational leadership and digital-transformation experience. That continuity may matter to franchisees because leadership changes can create uncertainty if owners do not understand the direction. Keeping Leff involved while installing a permanent CEO gives the system a cleaner transition than a sudden break.

Walsh said she was drawn to brands with a positive impact on everyday life and pointed to Hand & Stone's loyal membership base, franchise-owner network and reputation as a trusted relaxation destination. She also said she wanted to support franchise-owner success while building on the brand's wellness leadership. That language is expected in a CEO announcement, but the franchise market will watch for how it turns into operating decisions: service innovation, pricing, membership packaging, staffing support, training and local marketing tools.

The appointment comes at a time when wellness franchising is both attractive and demanding. Consumers continue to spend on self-care, stress relief and skincare, but labor, rent and competition from independent spas, medical aesthetics providers and fitness-wellness hybrids are real pressures. Hand & Stone says membership levels are at all-time highs and systemwide sales continue to outpace the industry. Walsh's job is to protect that momentum without making the brand too complicated for owners to operate. For franchise candidates, the CEO move is a signal that Hand & Stone is prioritizing experienced franchise leadership as it moves deeper into a mature, membership-driven growth phase.