Woman Denied CEO Job Pulls Off $2.3 Billion Comeback, Fires Her Old Boss

Making it big in any field requires perseverance and the ability not to let the naysayers get in your head. Julia Stewart was told that she would never become Applebee's CEO while working as its president in the late 1990s. So she left the company and went on to become the chief executive at a rival casual dining chain and later bought her former employer for $2.3 billion.

According to a report in People, Ms Stewart was promised the top job at Applebee's if she could help the company turn profitable. Presented the challenge, Ms Stewart took it head-on and assembled a team.

"So I went out and pretty much started with a new team, the best that I could possibly find. And to this day, most of them are good friends. But what we did was pretty remarkable," said Ms Stewart, who managed to reshape the company within three years.

Satisfied with where she had taken the company, Ms Stewart suggested to the top hierarchy that the time was right to make good on the promise she had been made. However, what happened in the meeting would change her future.

"And he's very reflective; he stops for a minute. I'm sure it was 10 seconds. It felt like a minute and a half. And he says, 'No.' And I thought he meant, 'No, not today.' And I laughed and said, 'Well, no. I'm not suggesting today but perhaps for something you want me to showcase. Perhaps you want me to demonstrate something more than I have already or the board wants to see something.' And he said, 'No, not ever.' "

Also Read | Man Who Snatched Hat From Child At US Open Identified As Polish Millionaire

The revenge

Hurt by the deception, Ms Stewart resigned and joined IHOP, spending five years revitalising the brand. As IHOP became successful, she proposed the idea of acquiring Applebee's. Eventually, the deal went through, and IHOP bought the company for a whopping $2.3 billion.

Afterwards, Ms Stewart called the CEO and chair of Applebee's and said the company didn't need the 'two of us' and that she was "going to have to" let him go.

Having made her mark and successfully achieved her target, Ms Stewart went on to serve as chair and CEO of the parent company, Dine Brands Global, for a decade. Currently, she is a board member at Bojangles, among other places, and the founder of a wellness app.