Red Lobster's wunderkind CEO might have the secret sauce for turnarounds. Private equity should be taking notes.

A Red Lobster sign in San Antonio, Texas.

Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA via Reuters

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An Ivy League-educated, former private-equity investor with a knack for chasing turnarounds doesn't sound like a sympathetic figure. Damola Adamolekun is different.

The 37-year-old Red Lobster CEO is the face of the seafood chain's turnaround, building a cult following along the way...