Twice Denied, Now in Charge: Julia Stewart’s Full-Circle Takeover of Applebee’s

31 August 2025

Julia Stewart. Jin Lee/Bloomberg/Getty

In a twist of corporate destiny fit for the boardroom drama of the decade, Julia Stewart’s path from overlooked promise to ultimate authority is a story of perseverance, strategy, and poetic justice. During an April 2025 appearance on the Matthews Mentality podcast, Stewart the driving force behind IHOP’s resurgence and CEO of DineEquity Inc, revealed that she had once been passed over for the top job at Applebee’s despite delivering a dramatic turnaround for the company. Years later, she returned not only as an acquirer but as the one with the power to remove the man who denied her.

Stewart recounted how, early in her tenure as president of Applebee’s, she assembled a new management team and implemented sweeping changes. Within three years, she had moved stock prices upward and revitalized the brand. Confident in her achievements, she walked into a boardroom presentation complete with performance charts and made her case for promotion.

Then came the blow: when she asked whether it was time to be named CEO, the response was a simple, firm no. No explanation, just “not ever.” Stunned, she paused to reflect. The next day, she notified leadership that she intended to step away as long as a smooth transition could be orchestrated. He replied that her departure could tank the stock. So she remained, but all the while preparing to write the next chapter of her story.

Her next move took her to IHOP, where she spent the next five years turning a struggling chain into a thriving icon of casual dining. Once she stabilized IHOP, Stewart pitched a bold growth strategy to the board: they would need to acquire another brand to maintain momentum. The natural choice stood in plain sight, Applebee’s. It wasn’t about revenge, she insisted, though the poetic symmetry wasn’t lost on anyone. Armed with approval and $2.3 billion in borrowed funds, Stewart’s team succeeded in acquiring the very company that once shut her out.

When the acquisition was official, she made a single executive move. She called her former boss and notification was mercilessly succinct: “We don’t need two of us in leadership anymore. I’m letting you go.” It was both business logic and personal vindication an unforgettable moment of full-circle reckoning.

Yet Stewart emphasized that this wasn’t a triumph of vindication, it was strategic execution playbook in motion. She never viewed the purchase as an act of vengeance. Instead, it was a savvy expansion grounded in opportunity, timing, and confidence. Having rebuilt IHOP, she now saw the potential to scale that success by adding another growth asset and Applebee’s represented just that.

What makes Stewart’s journey particularly compelling is how it illuminates the often invisible forces shaping corporate leadership. Promised advancement can vanish in an instant. But what could have become a tale of bitterness instead became a lesson in resilience. She didn’t burn bridges at Applebee’s; rather, she rebuilt a path back to the top on her own terms. It wasn’t about closure, it was a demonstration of readiness, paired with unshakeable focus on growth.

Stewart’s story also underscores a crucial lesson for women in leadership: delivering results doesn’t always guarantee reward, especially when expectations are misaligned or bounded by bias. Her experience illustrates how systemic promises can be hollow, even where merit is clear. But it also highlights how the vantage point of no longer needing approval can open doors that once closed.

During the podcast interview, Stewart was described by peers as a “stone-cold killer” a title she wore with defiant pride. It wasn’t about ruthlessness; it was about clarity of purpose and the relentless confidence to follow through. Her story resonates as a narrative of ethical ambition and disciplined execution, a blueprint not just for corporate leadership, but for turning setbacks into structural advantage.

In the end, Julia Stewart’s full-circle takeover is more than a tale of poetic irony. It’s a testament to what happens when a leader refuses to be defined by rejection. She transformed disappointment into a data point and then capitalized on it, not by swinging back, but by rising higher. Sometimes the true measure of leadership isn’t in seizing opportunity, but in creating it yourself.