Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun is steering the seafood chain toward becoming what he calls the "most AI-forward restaurant company" in the industry, deploying artificial intelligence across forecasting, ordering, and operational reporting as the company rebuilds from its 2024 bankruptcy. The 37-year-old executive, the youngest CEO in the brand's history, laid out the strategy during a June 2026 appearance on "The Black Money Tree Podcast," arguing that business leaders can no longer afford to ignore the technology's impact on competitive survival.
Red Lobster emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024 under new ownership and Adamolekun's leadership. The chain, which had cited more than $1 billion in debt and closed 99 locations, now operates roughly 550 restaurants-down from about 700 before the crisis. The AI push arrives as the company works to modernize operations and protect margins in a challenging casual dining environment.
From manual reports to machine-generated briefings
One visible piece of the rollout centers on Chief Operating Officer Larry Konecny. He now uses AI-powered systems to pull relevant restaurant metrics into automated reports before visiting locations. The change eliminates the manual presentation work his team previously handled, freeing staff to focus on deeper operational analysis rather than slide creation.
Adamolekun said he encourages department heads to find their own uses for the technology. "I want them to use Claude to make presentations, to make training materials, to analyze restaurant metrics," he said on the podcast. The approach pushes AI adoption down to the director level rather than centralizing it within a single technology team.
The operational scope
The company's AI plans extend well beyond reporting. According to reporting, Red Lobster intends to use AI for sales forecasting, predicting customer demand, automating food ordering, and improving overall restaurant efficiency. These applications target the core operational loops that determine how kitchens staff shifts, how much inventory sits on shelves, and how pricing adjusts to traffic patterns.
Industry data shows the broader restaurant sector is moving in this direction, though unevenly. The National Restaurant Association reports that more than 25% of restaurant operators now use AI in some form. As of February 2026, only 6% of restaurants had deployed AI specifically for customer orders, leaving substantial headroom for chains that move faster on operational AI.
A generational shift at the top
Adamolekun's background sets him apart from most peers in casual dining. Before taking over Red Lobster, he led P.F. Chang's to more than $1 billion in sales during the pandemic. His competitors-Texas Roadhouse CEO Jerry Morgan and Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas among them-typically have decades of industry tenure. Adamolekun's tech-forward perspective is relatively uncommon at the executive level in a sector where leadership often rises through operations and kitchen experience.
He acknowledged on the podcast that many people are "scared of it or don't want to deal with it," but said embracing AI is now essential. His stance reflects a broader shift as restaurants deploy technology to combat rising labor costs and thinning margins.
Why this matters for executives and strategy
Adamolekun's approach signals a practical playbook for leaders operating in margin-constrained industries. Rather than treating AI as a pilot project or a centralized IT function, he is embedding it into the daily workflows of department heads-from automated KPI briefings to demand forecasting. The lesson for executives is that AI adoption doesn't require a massive centralized overhaul. It can start by removing the manual reporting that consumes managers' time and then expand into decisions around AI for Operations like inventory, staffing, and pricing. For strategy leaders watching the restaurant space, Red Lobster's post-bankruptcy AI push tests whether a legacy brand can use technology to compete against leaner, faster competitors without breaking its operational culture.
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