An Ivy League-educated, former private-equity investor with a knack for chasing turnarounds doesn’t sound like a sympathetic figure. Damola Adamolekun is different.
The 37-year-old Red Lobster CEO is the face of the seafood chain’s turnaround, building a cult following along the way, writes BI’s Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert.
The irony is that traditional Wall Street tactics — this time in the form of sale-leasebacks on the restaurants’ land — are what got Red Lobster in trouble in the first place. (The endless shrimp didn’t help.)
But Adamolekun has taken a different approach from the slash-and-burn strategy PE is commonly criticized for, making him a fan favorite.
He’s also in familiar territory.
While at Paulson & Co., he pitched an investment in struggling chain P.F. Chang’s. By 2020, he was named CEO. He eventually helped it bring in an additional $1 billion in revenue before stepping down in 2024.
The situation at Red Lobster was even more dire when he joined in 2024, as the chain was emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since then, Adamolekun has done everything from giving the menu a facelift to creating value-focused meals that won’t break the bottom line.
The result, as Katherine writes, is a CEO with a wide-ranging fan base, from former Red Lobster fans who drifted from the brand to finance bros impressed with his handiwork.
It’s only fair I disclose my personal bias: I grew up loving Red Lobster.
My family frequented our fair share of casual dining chains growing up, but a seafood-hating mother and sister meant Red Lobster was rarely in the rotation. On the one day a year I’d get to pick (my birthday), it was always going to be Red Lobster.
(The high from ordering an Ultimate Feast as a 10-year-old is honestly a feeling I’m still chasing to this day.)
But at some point, things changed. Those corporate chains started feeling a lot more soul sucking. I couldn’t look at a server without thinking of Jennifer Aniston’s character in “Office Space” getting yelled at for not having enough flair.
Adamolekun’s willingness to put himself in front of the turnaround has helped change that vibe. That, coupled with his patience in implementing changes, is a lesson for other aspiring PE-turned-CEOs.
With trillions in PE capital sitting on the sidelines and big questions about AI’s impact on legacy businesses, there will probably be no shortage of turnaround opportunities for PE. Adamolekun’s playbook could be one worth replicating.
In the meantime, I have my next birthday meal picked out.
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