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Multimillionaire baby boomer Julia Stewart was told that she would never become Applebee’s CEO while working as its president in the late 1990s. So she left and went on to be chief executive at rival American casual dining chain IHOP—then she bought her former employer for $2.3 billion. After the acquisition, she called Applebee’s then-chair and CEO, breaking the news: “We don’t need two of us, so I’m gonna have to let you go.”
Many professionals will encounter naysayers who believe they can’t achieve their ambitious goals, whether that be bad bosses, skeptical investors, or doubtful professors. But Julia Stewart—a serial executive who has led operations across various billion-dollar American casual dining chains—had a gratifying career moment after being snubbed for CEO.
It was 1998, and Stewart was serving as president of Applebee’s after a seven-year stint as Taco Bell’s national senior VP of franchise operations. The restaurant chain was struggling and needed an industry powerhouse to help turn things around. So Applebee’s leader presented a game-plan to Stewart: get the struggling company back on track, and she will have proven herself enough to take the coveted chief executive role.
“The then chair and CEO said, ‘When you and the team turned this company around, we’ll make you CEO.’ I said, ‘That’s perfect, that’s just perfect for me,’” Stewart recently revealed on The Matthews Mentality Podcast.
Over the next three years, Stewart managed to help Applebee’s take back the throne of casual dining. In 1999, the company’s system sales—including both company and franchise restaurant sales—skyrocketed 14% from the year prior to $2.35 billion. Applebee’s record basic and diluted earnings per share also grew 20% in that year. Stewart said that she doubled the stock during her brief tenure, yet all of that growth wasn’t enough to satisfy her boss when she sat down to talk about her promotion.
“Everything is going very well. And I said, ‘So, I’m thinking, it’s about time to be CEO.’ And he’s very reflective. He stops for a minute, and he said, ‘No, not ever,’” Stewart recalled. That was her signal to take her talents elsewhere. “I think you’re holding me accountable for everything, but you’re not giving me the title. So I’m gonna go ahead and leave.”
The now 70-year-old serial executive then pivoted to become chair and CEO of rival casual dining chain IHOP. It gave her the perfect opportunity to grow another brand and get even. In 2007, she put a major acquisition into motion: buying her former employer, Applebee’s, for around $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion. After the deal went through, she called up the company to inform them of a change in leadership.
