But under the leadership of Damola Adamolekun, 36, who was previously the CEO of P.F. Chang’s, Red Lobster has officially turned the ship around. As the company continues to recover from bankruptcy, the chain expects positive net income in fiscal 2026, and adjusted Ebitda is expected to grow 43% from fiscal 2025 to 2027.
“I think this is going to be the greatest comeback in the history of the restaurant industry,” Adamolekun recently told Fortune’s Ruth Umoh in her new vodcast series, The CEO Playbook. “Of course it’s risky; I took over a company that’s bankrupt and had a lot of problems.”
But Adamolekun, who was featured on Fortune’s inaugural 100 Most Powerful People in Business list, knows about taking risks. He led P.F. Chang’s, an Asian-fusion chain, through the COVID pandemic, returned the company to profitability, and drove major operational and strategic change at the company. Under his leadership, P.F. Chang’s started generating revenues of about $1 billion, according to the National Restaurant Association.
That was “a crazy feat on its face, given the challenges the restaurant and hospitality industry is recovering from: the worst pandemic in 100 years, supply-chain challenges, a shallow labor pool, and a still-uncertain economy,” according to the National Restaurant Association.
