Damola Adamolekun (born February 1989) is a Nigerian-American business executive and the current

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Red Lobster Red Lobster Hospitality, LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico), and Canada, as well as in Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, ...

Investor Holdings. He is the youngest CEO of Red Lobster and previously held experience in financial and operational restructuring, particularly as CEO of

P. F. Chang's P. F. Chang's China Bistro is an American-based, casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang that serves Asian fusion cuisine. Centerbridge Partners owned and operated Chang's until acquired by the private e ...

in the early 2020s.

Early life and educational background

Damola was born in Nigeria in 1989 to Yoruba parents, a neurologist (father) and a pharmacist (mother). He spent his early childhood in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

before moving to

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, with his family at the age of 9. His family later relocated to

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most-populous community in Maryland ...

, where he attended

Wilde Lake High School Wilde Lake High School is a secondary school located at the village of Wilde Lake in Columbia, Maryland, Columbia, Maryland, United States. It is one of the 13 public high schools in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County. The school is central ...

. From a young age, Damola exhibited an interest in business, opening his first stock portfolio at age 16. Damola holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where he served as President of the Brown Investment Group and was a member of the university’s Ivy League champion football team. He later obtained an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, where he was a Portfolio Manager for the HBS Investment Club.

Career

Damola began his professional career as an Investment Banker at

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

and later worked as a

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

associate at

TPG Inc. TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, stock, public equity, and debt investments. The f ...

. He also held board positions at P.F. Chang's, Inday, NuLeaf, the

National Restaurant Association The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The associa ...

, and International Tower Hill Mines.

P. F. Chang's

In 2017, after completing his MBA at Harvard Business School, Damola joined Paulson & Co., an investment firm founded by hedge fund billionaire

John Paulson John Alfred Paulson (born December 14, 1955) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He leads Paulson & Co., a New York–based investment management firm he founded in 1994. He has been called "one of the most prominent names in high f ...

. During his time at Paulson & Co., P. F. Chang’s was put up for sale, and Damola pitched the investment idea to Paulson, which led to Paulson & Co. and TriArtisan Capital Advisors acquiring a controlling stake in P.F. Chang's in 2019. After the acquisition Damola joined the board and became the company's Chief Strategy Officer. In 2020, Damola became

first Black CEO at the age of 31. During his tenure, the company launched P. F. Chang's To Go, a concept that led to the growth of the brand’s delivery business. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Damola returned P. F. Chang's to profitability with a 31.7% increase in sales by 2021 and annual revenues of $1 billion. In 2023, Damola stepped down as CEO of P. F. Chang’s after four years in the role but remained involved with the brand’s private equity owners.

Red Lobster

In 2024, the

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

-based seafood chain

slipped towards

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, closing 93 locations and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 20, 2024, with over $1 billion in debt. On June 14, 2024 it was reported that

Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group, LLC is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, Pete Briger, Michael Novogratz, and Randal Nardone. Overview When ...

, a Wall Street investment firm co-founded by Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens, was interested in acquiring the company. Fortress Investment Group logo

On August 26, 2024, Fortress appointed Damola CEO of Red Lobster Investor Holdings LLC, making him the youngest CEO in the company’s history. Damola stated that he wanted to lead Red Lobster’s turnaround because of its history as the "first really successful casual dining chain in America at scale", and that his approach to Red Lobster’s recovery would focus on incremental changes rather than a complete overhaul.

Recognition and awards

* CEO of the Year in the Food and Beverage: GLOBEE Silver Award –2021. * CEO of the Year, Hospitality, Travel, Recreation, Leisure; GLOBEE Gold Award –2021. * Transformational Leader of the Year. GLOBEE Silver Award –2021. * Top CEO of the Year The Rising Star –2021. * Fortune 100 Most Powerful People–2024.

References

External links

National Restaurant Association Profile - Damola Adamolekun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamolekun, Damola 1989 births 21st-century African-American people Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Business School people Brown University alumni Yoruba businesspeople Nigerian chief executives Nigerian food industry businesspeople Living people Goldman Sachs people