Red Lobster has hired Cijoy Olickal as chief information officer as it continues to revamp its C-suite under new CEO Kelli Valade.
Olickal had been CIO at Brazilian steakhouse concept Fogo de Chao since 2019. Before that, he held various IT leadership roles at clearAnja, Brinker International, Infosys, Hewlett Packard and IBM.
"I came to the USA in 1977, and I quickly realized that everyone in America knew and loved Red Lobster—and they still do," Olickal said in a statement. "I am honored to have the opportunity to join such an iconic brand and help lead us as we plan and evolve for the next generation of guests."
Cijoy Olickal / Photograph courtesy of Red Lobster
He is the latest executive hire under Valade, who took over the 675-unit seafood chain in August. Earlier this month, Red Lobster hired former Bloomin’ exec David Schmidt as CFO and in January added former Hardee's marketing leader Patty Trevino as CMO.
"Technology touches everyone and everything in our business, which makes the work that our IT team does absolutely critical," Valade said in a statement. "We are excited to add Cijoy to our team as we look at new and innovative solutions to best serve our guests in the future. His deep experience combined with his proven ability to clearly convey and gain support for complex IT concepts are a winning combination."
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