Crimson Lobster didn't present a motive for the CEO's exit.
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The boss of seafood restaurant chain Crimson Lobster is resigning from her put up simply eight months after she took the job — a shock exit that one analyst reportedly described as a “very dangerous” signal for the corporate.
Neither Crimson Lobster nor Kelli Valade, a veteran restaurant business government, supplied a proof for her abrupt departure as CEO.
The outgoing chief described the transfer, which takes impact on April 15, as an “extremely troublesome, however obligatory, choice.”
“We’ve completed rather a lot in a brief time frame, together with constructing an incredible management crew that alongside the board will carry the enterprise ahead to realize our imaginative and prescient,” Valade mentioned in a press release. “I've actually liked my time right here at Crimson Lobster.”
Valade took over as Crimson Lobster’s CEO final August and was tasked with the model’s restoration from the COVID-19 pandemic — with main challenges together with a nationwide labor scarcity and surging seafood prices.
She joined the corporate after a stint helming restaurant analytics agency Black Field Intelligence and 20 years at Brinker Worldwide, the guardian firm of the Chilli’s restaurant chain.
Crimson Lobster mentioned its government crew would work with the board of administrators to “guarantee enterprise continuity in the course of the seek for a everlasting alternative” for Valade. The corporate tapped board member Paul Kenny as the purpose individual in the course of the transition.
Restaurant analyst John Gordon informed the Orlando Sentinel that Valade’s choice to move for the exits was a “very, very, very dangerous” signal for the corporate.
“No CEO anyplace needs to be on board an organization solely eight months. That claims all of it,” Gordon informed the outlet. “That's an indicator of extreme stress and malfunction you could solely keep on a job eight months earlier than some form of irreparable break happens.”
Crimson Lobster representatives didn't instantly return a request for additional touch upon Valade’s departure and the next criticism.
Valade’s exit adopted a sequence of latest administration adjustments at Crimson Lobster, which introduced the hiring of a brand new chief monetary officer and a brand new chief advertising officer in January.
Thailand-based seafood producer Thai Union led a bunch of traders that acquired Crimson Lobster from Golden Gate Capital in 2020. Thai Union’s US manufacturers embrace Hen of the Sea.
The chain was experiencing some monetary difficulties previous to the sale, with former CEO Kim Lopdrup describing the pandemic because the “most difficult time” within the firm’s historical past.
Crimson Lobster’s restoration was dampened earlier this 12 months in the course of the Omicron variant surge.
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