The Appointments
Red Lobster has confirmed two C-suite placements that round out the seafood chain's leadership rebuild: Andy Pitts is named Chief Marketing Officer on a permanent basis, and Jon Tryzbiak is promoted to Chief Information Officer. Both moves were announced October 7 by CEO Damola Adamolekun, who framed the hires as essential infrastructure for the brand's next growth phase.
Pitts has led Red Lobster's marketing function in an interim capacity since January 2026, giving the brand continuity through a turbulent stretch that included its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. During that period he oversaw the launch of Red Lobster Nation, a revamped loyalty program designed to expand member choice in how they earn and redeem rewards — a guest-engagement mechanism increasingly central to full-service casual dining economics. Pitts brings nearly two decades of restaurant marketing experience across Wingstop, Smoothie King, Fogo de Chão and Dairy Queen, and previously served as a strategic agency partner to Red Lobster before joining the company.
Technology and Data Priorities
Tryzbiak's promotion to CIO deepens Red Lobster's commitment to restaurant-systems modernization. He joined the chain earlier in 2026 and has already shifted how the organization prioritizes technology delivery, with an emphasis on simplification and execution consistency across the restaurant base. In his expanded role he will oversee the company's data and analytics stack and lead efforts to integrate AI and emerging tools into restaurant operations. His prior employers include Brinker International, FB Society, Checkers & Rally's, Bloomin' Brands and Landry's — a résumé that spans both casual-dining and QSR system scales.
Adamolekun noted that the combination of stronger guest-facing marketing and a modernized technology foundation is intended to give the chain greater "focus, cohesion and discipline" as it rebuilds unit-level performance. For a full-service seafood operator competing against fast-casual disruptors and grocery-prepared-foods growth, investments in digital engagement and data-driven operations are table stakes — not differentiators — in the current environment.
Building the Bench
The dual announcement is the latest in a deliberate executive assembly process at Red Lobster. Earlier in 2026 the chain named Brad Hill Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Transformation, and Kristen Briede Chief Global Development Officer. That development-focused hire signals the brand has not abandoned unit growth ambitions even as it stabilizes the existing restaurant base — a posture worth watching as the casual-dining segment navigates persistent traffic softness and elevated food and labor costs.
For franchisors and multi-unit operators tracking the full-service seafood category, Red Lobster's C-suite reconstruction is a meaningful signal. A chain of its scale — the self-described world's largest seafood restaurant company — moving to lock in permanent marketing and technology leadership suggests internal confidence that the post-restructuring operating model is stable enough to plan against. Whether that translates into measurable same-store sales recovery or loyalty-program-driven AUV lift will be the metrics to watch when the brand next reports performance data.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
