At just 37, Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun has already built an unconventional path to the C-suite. Before leading the restaurant chain through a major turnaround, he worked as a server during high school—a job he credits with teaching him valuable lessons about people, communication and leadership.
Adamolekun says working in restaurants taught him how to quickly understand different personalities, manage difficult customers and turn tense situations into positive experiences. Those skills have remained central to his leadership approach as he works to rebuild Red Lobster and regain customer trust.
His career later took him from Brown University and Goldman Sachs to Harvard Business School and hedge fund management. While working at Paulson & Co., he helped pursue the acquisition of P.F. Chang’s and became its CEO at just 31, successfully guiding the restaurant chain through the challenges of the pandemic.
In 2024, Adamolekun took over Red Lobster after the company filed for bankruptcy protection. His turnaround strategy included closing more than 100 locations, simplifying the menu, improving restaurant maintenance and refocusing on the customer experience.
He has also pushed the company to make greater use of artificial intelligence. Adamolekun believes AI can reduce administrative work for managers, allowing them to spend more time interacting with customers and leading their teams.
His message to younger workers is equally direct: instead of resisting AI, learn how to use it. He encourages Gen Z to become comfortable with the technology, use it as a productivity tool and continue developing their own judgment.
For Adamolekun, the journey from serving tables to running a major restaurant company shows that early work experiences can provide leadership lessons that remain valuable long after moving into the C-suite.
