- 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.
