There may be some fishy smell about it – and it could signal trouble ahead for one of America’s favorite restaurant chains.
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Red Lobster announced this week that CEO Kelly Valade is resigning from his position with the company after just 8 months in the job. His resignation will take effect on April 15.
“Red Lobster is a favorite, iconic brand with a loyal guest following and incredibly smart and talented employees. As a brand leader, my job as a brand leader is to inspire and develop our people, as well as find ways to harness the brand’s strengths and build for them.” Success, “said Vlad in a company statement “We’ve achieved a lot in a very short time, including building a great leadership team that will take the business forward to achieve our vision alongside the board. I really liked it. My time at Red Lobster. It was an incredibly difficult, but necessary decision.”
Related: Red lobster struggle split from parent company
Neither the company nor Valde gave further details about the reason for his departure.
Red Lobster said no immediate decision had been made on who would replace Valladolid, but board member Paul Kenny would act as a “liaison” between the board and Red Lobster’s executive during the transition period.
Vallad became CEO in August 2021, as the brand struggled to recover from epidemic-related closures and food shortages, a daunting task in an effort to get the chain back on track.
John Gordon, a restaurant analyst, said that the rapid exit of the Valleys within a year of post-epidemic growth could signal big problems ahead for the chain.
“No CEO wants to stay in the company for just eight months,” Gordon said Orlando Sentinel. “It simply came to our notice then. It’s an indicator of serious stress and error that you can only stay in the job for eight months before any kind of irreversible break. “
Red Lobster, headquartered in Orlando, was sold late last summer from Golden Jett Capital to a group of shareholders called Thai Union PCL, a major seafood supplier who has owned the chain’s stock since 2016.
Red Lobster was part of the Darden restaurant before it was sold in 2014.
