Nigerian American Damola Adamolekun was recently appointed as Red Lobster’s new CEO to guide the company through its restructuring process. Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May after accruing over $1 billion in debt. His expertise is being tapped to bring the business to profitability.
“Red Lobster is an iconic brand with a tremendous future,” Adamolekun said in a statement about his appointment. “I’m looking forward to working with our team members across North America to reinvigorate the brand by making it the best place to work for our employees and improving the experience for our guests.”
On Monday, September 16, Red Lobster announced its exit from Chapter 11 restructuring and the completion of its acquisition by RL Investor Holdings LLC. “Red Lobster is now a stronger, more resilient company, and today is the start of a new chapter in our history,” Adamolekun said.
Prior to his appointment as the boss of Red Lobster, Adamolekum reportedly frequented the locations of the seafood chain, assessing its food and how to improve the company.
As per the Wall Street Journal, he began visiting Red Lobsters around the U.S. in May, snacking on crab legs, Maine lobster tail, and its famed Cheddar Bay biscuits while speaking to employees and customers about their experiences. The platform noted that he did that without any of his fellow diners knowing his status as the future CEO of the restaurant.
After his visits, he realized that diners “just want quality food in a comfortable setting and to connect with the history of the brand,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “That’s the first step.”
Before he was appointed CEO of Red Lobster, Adamolekun made history when he assumed leadership of P.F. Chang’s, a popular Asian restaurant chain founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang. The Nigerian native was the first black to manage P.F. Chang’s.
As CEO of P.F. Chang’s, he was focused on implementing updated technology to help with the new reality of to-go orders during the height of the pandemic. After becoming CEO in May 2020, he led the company to a 31.7% increase in sales in 2021 compared to the year before.
He guided the business to shift its operations for “online optimization and putting our staff into new roles.” According to the National Restaurant Association, he helped generate an estimated $1 billion in revenue for the chain.
Before P.F. Chang’s, Adamolekun worked in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs and as a Private Equity Associate at TPG Capital. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University, where he was a member of the Ivy League champion Brown Football team. He also earned his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Adamolekun is the son of a neurologist and pharmacist. He was born in Nigeria and raised in Zimbabwe, Amsterdam, Springfield, Ill., and Columbia, MD.
