Damola Adamolekun

The 36-Year-Old CEO Betting Everything on Red Lobster

When most people think about taking over a bankrupt company, they run the other way. Not Damola Adamolekun. At 36, he’s leading what could become one of the restaurant industry’s greatest comeback stories. Here is the thing he’s done this before.

In April 2020, COVID-19 shut down restaurants across America. P.F. Chang’s just made Adamolekun CEO at 31, their first Black chief executive, replacing John Antioco, an industry veteran who’d been CEO eight different times at major companies.

Damola launched P.F. Chang’s To Go, scaled up delivery operations, and put on a hard hat to help reopen stores. By 2021, the company hit $1 billion in revenue with sales up to 31.7%.

When Red Lobster declared bankruptcy in May 2024, $1 billion in debt, 93 locations closed, and an endless shrimp promotion that lost them $11 million, Adamolekun didn’t hesitate. Fortress Investment Group brought him in as CEO that August.

First order of business? Kill the endless shrimp. When Today asked him why, his answer was perfect: “Because I know how to do math.”

It’s not just about cutting deals that don’t work. He’s investing $60 million to fix what’s broken, HVAC systems, torn carpets, outdated lighting; the stuff that makes you walk into a restaurant and think, “Maybe I’ll go somewhere else.” Meanwhile, he’s streamlining the menu, bringing back Lobsterfest with $20 lobster rolls, and adding a happy hour that makes sense for people’s wallets.

Three months. That’s how long it took Red Lobster to emerge from bankruptcy. The company’s projecting 43% EBITDA growth over the next couple of years.

Adamolekun was born in 1989 in Nigeria to a neurologist father and pharmacist mother. His childhood was spent ping-ponging between countries, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, before his family settled in the U.S. when he was nine. By 16, he was investing every dollar from his high school jobs into the stock market. Not exactly typical teenage behavior.

Here’s what separates Adamolekun from most executives: he stays calm when everything’s on fire. “You need to make decisions calmly regardless of the stakes,” he says. No panicking, no rash moves. Just clear thinking.

The accolades have piled up: Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful People in Business, EBONY Power 100, multiple GLOBEE Leadership Awards including CEO of the Year for Food & Beverage. But Adamolekun doesn’t talk much about being the first Black CEO at these major restaurant chains or about breaking barriers. He talks about getting the work done.

There’s something bigger happening here than just saving restaurants. Adamolekun chose Red Lobster specifically because it was “the first really successful casual dining chain in America at scale.” He’s not just building something new; he’s proving that iconic American brands don’t have to die. They can adapt and come back stronger.

Think about it: a son of Nigerian immigrants, college athlete, teenage stock investor who now runs billion-dollar restaurant companies. If he pulls off this Red Lobster turnaround, it won’t just be good for the employees who kept their jobs. It’ll prove that with the right leadership, American institutions can evolve instead of fading into nostalgia.

And based on everything he’s done so far? You’d be foolish to bet against him.

Learn more about leaders transforming the foodservice industry in CSG’s Trailblazers series.

Sources

Forbes, “Red Lobster’s New CEO Is Trying To Save The Chain From Extinction”

Fortune Magazine, “Red Lobster’s new CEO explains his turnaround strategy”

Restaurant Business, “P.F. Chang’s names Damola Adamolekun CEO”

Today Show interview, October 2024

LinkedIn, Damola Adamolekun professional profile