Serial entrepreneur and longtime restaurant group chief executive Julia Stewart, 70, is going viral this week for making one of “the best moves in leadership” when it comes to business deal comebacks.
After seven years as a senior leader at Taco Bell, Julia Stewart joined Applebee’s as president in 1998. She left after three years when she was denied a promotion to CEO, despite being promised and earning the role – during her tenure, company and franchise sales skyrocketed and so did the stock price, per Fortune. Soon after the snub, she joined IHOP as chair and CEO in 2001, per LinkedIn.
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After about six years in the role, in november 2007, IHOP acquired Applebee’s for $2.1 billion, and Stewart had a phone call to make.”I called the chair and CEO of Applebee’s, and I said, ‘Just wanted to say hi.’ And he said, ‘I was expecting this call,'” Stewart recently told The Matthews Mentality Podcast. “And I said, ‘As you know, this morning, we announced that we have purchased, for $2.3 billion,the company,and we don’t need two of us,so I’m gonna have to let you go.'”